Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], December 15 (ANI): Following his side's win over South Africa in the third T20I, Indian opener Abhishek Sharma backed out-of-form batters Suryakumar Yadav, the captain and vice-captain Shubman Gill, saying that the duo will help India win matches during the ICC T20 World Cup next year and even before that during the bilateral series leading upto the title defence.

While India secured a 2-1 lead over Proteas thanks to some fantastic bowling and an explosive knock by Abhishek Sharma, India's leadership duo continued its struggle for runs, with Gill scoring just 28 runs and not finishing the match, and Surya scoring a sluggish 11-ball 12 again, with two fours.

Speaking during the post-match presser, Gill expressed his trust in these two players, especially his Punjab teammate Gill, with whom he has played a lot of cricket since age-group cricket days.

'I'm telling you (media) straight away, trust me that these two guys (Surya and Gill) are going to win us matches in the T20 World Cup and in series before that. I have been playing with them for so long, especially Shubman.

'So, I know which match he (Gill) can win, which conditions, irrespective of the team, whoever it is. So, I have a lot of trust in him from the beginning, and I hope everyone will see it very soon, and everyone will trust him,' he added.

In 20 matches and 18 innings this year, the Indian captain Suryakumar has scored just 213 runs at an average of 14.20 and a shockingly poor strike rate of 125.29, with the best score of 47*. Surya's average this year is the second-worst in a calendar year (minimum 200 runs), next to Rwanda's Clinton Rubagumya's 12.52 in 2022, and the worst among all Test-playing nations. This is also the second-worst average by an Indian in T20Is during a calendar year (minimum 10 innings), behind Axar Patel's (11.62 in 2022).

Gill has been doing better than Suryakumar, but that is not saying much either, as he has made just 291 runs in 15 innings at an average of 24.25, with a strike rate of over 137, without a fifty and best score of 47. Eight of these innings have been scores below 20.

Coming to the match, South Africa was put to bat by India, who won the toss. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals, with a fiery powerplay spell delivered by Arshdeep Singh (2/13) and Harshit Rana (2/34). Spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav also picked two, leaving SA skipper Aiden Markram (61* in 46 balls, with six fours and two sixes) as their lone warrior as the Proteas were bundled out for 117 in 20 overs.

Abhishek Sharma (35 in 18 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Shubman Gill (28 in 28 balls, with five fours) started with a quickfire 60-run stand. While there was a brief slump in run rate with a few quick wickets, Tilak Varma (25* in 34 balls, with three fours) and Shivam Dube (10* in four balls) ended the chase in 15.5 overs, with seven wickets left. (ANI)