The air punch
When Quinton de Kock reached his century in Rajkot, he was too tired for a big celebration. Even though heat and humidity were comparable in Mumbai, he managed to save some energy to enjoy himself when he reached three figures this time. He got there with a single to midwicket, not a big shot like the ones he had been playing throughout his innings, and was already punching the air when he was only halfway through the run. De Kock was whooping and leaping mid-pitch and jumped up high and right-hooked the heavy air once he reached the other end. Faf du Plessis made his way over a hug and de Kock celebrated as he should have in Rajkot.
The helping hand
Several South African players have suffered cramp in this series and du Plessis went through the same as he approached his hundred. He hobbled through to bring up the milestone, but had to restrain himself in celebration as he then tried to play some big shots with the pressure off. But the pain did not disappear. As du Plessis attempted a slog, he fell over on his backside and clutched his hamstring. MS Dhoni, du Plessis' captain at the Chennai Super Kings, could see he needed help stretching and was the first on the scene to volunteer. He held du Plessis legs in the air and flexed his feet to stretch the muscle while the South African medical staff arrived in the middle. It's a gentleman's game after all.
The songs
The Wankhede is where the chant "Sachiiiiin, Sachiiiiiiiiiiiiin" was probably invented. Even though Tendulkar is no longer playing, his name still rings out loud at the venue, although less frequently than the mantra which motivates the home side. "Indiaaaaaaa, Indiaaaaaaaaaaaa" is repeated no matter the game situation except for a few moments when the opposition captain stole hearts. With AB de Villiers in full flow, the Mumbai crowd composed a new tune. "A-B-D, A-B-D" was the chant. Graeme Smith said it gave him goosebumps.
Action all around
If the runs were not providing enough entertainment, there was also some athleticism to admire. It came from none other than de Villiers. India responded with the urgency a team needed to chase close to nine runs an over, and Ajinkya Rahane knew he needed to keep the energy levels up. When he tapped Farhaan Behardien to short cover, Rahane set off for a sneaky single even though he was taking on de Villiers. In one movement, de Villiers slid to the right, swooped on the ball, picked up and threw to the non-striker's end, hitting the stumps, of course. Rahane was mid-dive when the wicket was broken but had managed to reach out and ground his bat in time.
Hurts so good
Hashim Amla is the one South African not known for putting his body on the line. But with India making good progress, something special was needed to stop them. De Villiers brought Kagiso Rabada back on to produce a breakthrough and he bowled Shikhar Dhawan a full ball which Dhawan tried to flick away. He managed only a leading edge towards mid-off, where Amla had to make some ground to judge the catch. He got to it, grabbed the ball and then fell face down onto the Wankhede turf. Amla stayed down and indicated there was something in his eye but it was evident the problem was above it, where he had cut himself.