Shantha Sreesanth's slap in the face from Harbhajan Singh nearly three years ago was probably deserved, if the fast bowler's behaviour on the present tour is anything to go by.

That piece of discipline no doubt brought with it a lesson or two, and Harbhajan was helping out his fast-bowling team-mate once again on Wednesday.

Apart from the high-quality cricket on show again at Newlands, the Cape Town crowd were entertained by the antics of the two Indian bowlers. While Sreesanth continued his spoilt child routine, Harbhajan spun and charmed his way into the good books of the Newlands faithful.

Sreesanth was given a tough time by the fans late on Tuesday, and on Wednesday he came out in an even more stubborn frame of mind; The Indian fast bowler glared accusingly at his fielders, appealed furiously at umpire Simon Taufel and was not short of a word or dirty look directed at the South African batsmen.

Unsavoury behaviour or not - make your own mind up about that one - Sreesanth's antics are highly entertaining, a point agreed upon by Dale Steyn after day three's action.

"The guy has been really funny, hasn't he?" said Steyn.

"He makes it entertaining, and he definitely made it entertaining for the crowd as well (on Tuesday).

"We had guys in our team, like Andre Nel, who also needed that kind of spark, so it's funny, it's funny to watch."

Also on Tuesday, Harbhajan had his own comments regarding his team-mate's recent antics.

"Sreesanth is getting more famous with this, I enjoyed it in Australia so let him enjoy it here," joked Singh.

A joke it may have been, but Harbhajan was quick to take back the limelight midway through the afternoon session.

A small section of the crowd, dressed in pink and sitting behind the off-spinner at fine-leg, took a liking to Singh - especially when he called over the advertising boardsfor one of their stick-on moustaches and paraded around the field wearing a Pieter De Villiers-esque 'tache on his face. The off-spinner's poses won loud cheers from the South African crowd, a contrasting reaction to that received by Sreesanth. His skipper may have been less pleased had Bhajji misfielded with a bushy moustache while on duty at point.

That Harbhajan's fooling about came shortly after an emotional Sreesanth moment - consecutive lbw shouts were turned down by umpire Taufel - was no coincidence. Once a petulant character himself, Harbhajan has learnt to manage his own emotions, and also how to win over opposition supporters. His maturity was on show at Newlands, entertaining while also importantly taking the spotlight off his fast-bowling team-mate.