The action kicked off as India (IND) and South Africa (SA) faced off in the third T20I of their five-match series at the stunning Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Sunday, December 14. With this match, the series stands at 1-1 after the Proteas made a fantastic comeback in New Chandigarh, seeking to avenge their earlier defeat in Cuttack. For India, one of the most surprising changes to the Playing XI was the absence of star pacer Jasprit Bumrah. At the toss, it was announced that the Ahmedabad native had returned home for personal family reasons. Additionally, star all-rounder Axar Patel was sidelined due to illness. Once again, Sanju Samson found himself out of the Playing XI, as skipper Suryakumar Yadav opted to stick with Jitesh Sharma as the wicketkeeper. Meanwhile, vice-captain Shubman Gill continued to open alongside Abhishek Sharma. While the reason for Samson's exclusion wasn't clearly stated, it seems the team is keen on keeping their batting order intact, with a focus on flexibility. On the flip side, South Africa made three changes to shake up their winning combination from the second game. They brought in Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, and Tristan Stubbs, while George Linde, Lutho Sipamla, and David Miller remained unavailable. Read also: IPL 2026 Mini-Auction: Best Players LSG Can Target to Strengthen Their Squad To wrap things up, the third T20I between India and South Africa brought yet another thrilling twist to a series that's now tied at 1-1. India stepped onto the field with a few surprising changes, missing some big names like Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel, but they stuck with their current batting lineup. The absence of Sanju Samson sparked quite a bit of chatter, yet the management seemed determined to keep things balanced and steady. On the flip side, South Africa made several adjustments to bolster their team, showing they meant business. With both sides tweaking their strategies, the rest of the series is set to deliver some exciting cricket action. What did the captain say? We’re going to bowl first. It’s been a good wicket all weekend and I don’t think it’ll change much, but there is a little bit of dew already and we feel it might get heavier later on. So, we’re happy to bowl first. It’s a wonderful place, wonderful people, and a fantastic ground. Hopefully when we bat and bowl, we can give everyone some good entertainment. Every game is important. The way they played in the second game showed the beauty of this sport. What matters most is how you come back, and that’s what we want to do tonight, play our best game, enjoy ourselves, and be fearless. If we stay switched on for all three hours, that will be key for us. It looks like a good pitch. We’ve made two forced changes. Axar Patel misses out as he’s unwell, and Jasprit Bumrah misses out due to personal reasons back home. Harshit Rana comes in, and Kuldeep Yadav comes in. India's playing 11 vs South Africa Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy.