Sanju dropped again but India make short work of SA to lead T20I series 2-1

India made short work of South Africa in the third T20I at Dharamsala, winning by seven wickets, to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Sanju Samson yet again missed out but Shubham Gill, the younger opener, who has stolen his place, did not perish early and almost saw India over the line, falling 26 runs away from win. 

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for 12 but Tilak Varma (26) and Shivam Dube (10) got the job done with 25 balls to spare.

Abhishek Sharma gave a powerful start, making 35 off 18 and fell in the last over of powerplay with India already 60 in a chase of 118.

Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose the smart option of bowling first. India had chased and lost in New Chandigarh but this time, the bowlers were impactful.

Harshit Rana picked a couple after Arshdeep Singh struck in the fourth ball to remove Reeza Hendricks (0) to leave the visitors reeling at 7/3.

Skipper Aiden Markram was the only SA batter who survived India's bowling variety. He made 61 off 46 and the only other batter with a respectable score was Donovan Ferreira (20).

Rana, Arshdeep, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav claimed two apiece while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube claimed a wicket each.

Kerala wicketkeeper batter Sanju was overlooked again as the management went with Jitesh Sharma in a lower-middle-order role. Sanju has not made it to India's playing XI for the sixth match in a row despite impressing in the domestic circuit.

India will aim for a series win in Lucknow, the venue for the fourth T20I scheduled for December 17.

Brief scores: South Africa 117 in 20 overs (Markram 61, Varun 2/11, Kuldeep 2/12, Arshdeep 2/13, Harshit 2/34) lost to India 120/3 in 15.5 overs (Abhishek Sharma 35, Gill 28, Tilak 26 not out)