NEW DELHI: Shubman Gill's extended run drought has dominated the conversation, but India's captain Suryakumar Yadav finds himself facing just as much heat as the team searches for the right combination ahead of the fourth T20I against South Africa in Lucknow on Wednesday, with the five-match series still in the balance.

The third T20I should have offered Suryakumar the perfect platform to regain rhythm, with India set a manageable target of 118. Instead, the fluency that once defined the world's top-ranked T20 batter remained elusive.

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The strokes that earlier set him apart are no longer yielding the same assurance, and Dharamsala followed a familiar script. Attempting his signature pick-up shot, Suryakumar once again failed to convert promise into runs, underlining a phase of uncertainty that refuses to fade.

Yet, despite the growing scrutiny and the numbers stacking up against him, the skipper showed little inclination to question his own form.

"The thing is, I've been batting beautifully in the nets. I'm trying everything that's in my control. When the runs have to come, they'll definitely come. I'm not out of form, but definitely out of runs," Suryakumar confidently said at the post-match presentation ceremony after India's win in Dharamsala on Sunday.

The statistics, however, paint a far more troubling picture.

Suryakumar has been grappling for rhythm for more than a year now, managing an average of under 15 in the format this season. Alarmingly, the Indian skipper is yet to register a single half-century in 2025, marking the longest such barren stretch of his career.

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What further underlines the depth of the slump is his lack of time at the crease - across this period, he has crossed the 20-ball mark just twice, reinforcing concerns over his fading impact at the top level.

With the T20 World Cup less than two months away, the defending champions would want their leader and premier batter to rediscover his rhythm sooner rather than later.

Vice-captain Shubman Gill's struggles are as bad if not worse. His elevation to the opening slot has seemingly unsettled India's top order.

Gill replaced a well-settled Sanju Samson. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter was first pushed down the order and eventually dropped despite forming a promising partnership with Abhishek Sharma earlier.

Gill has shown his class in other formats, but in T20Is he is yet to come across the assured batter that he is in Tests and ODIs.

While he survived during Sunday's low-target chase, his scratchy run-a-ball 28 did little to ease concerns with seven matches to go before the World Cup.

India have added Shahbaz Ahmed to the squad following Axar Patel's illness-enforced exit from the series, a move that could open the door for Kuldeep Yadav to get an extended run.

Jasprit Bumrah's availability remains uncertain after missing the previous match for personal reasons.

In his absence, Arshdeep Singh returned to form with a player-of-the-match performance, while Harshit Rana complemented him well in Dharamsala.

South Africa seek consistency

India currently lead the five-match series 2-1.

Fortunes have swung wildly so far in the series. While South Africa dominated and the Indians looked completely out of sorts in the lung-opener, the roles were reversed in the next match.

South Africa have been comprehensively beaten twice so far and would be eager to win on Wednesday to keep the series alive.

Since the T20 World Cup final last June, the Proteas have lost 18 of the 28 matches in the shortest format, highlighting a prolonged phase of inconsistency.

Still searching for a settled combination, the South African team management continues to ring in changes.

The constant chopping and changing has contributed to a lack of rhythm in the players and has ultimately cost them many games.

The last edition's runners-up side has five matches remaining -- two against India and three at home against the West Indies -- to finalise the playing XI before its T20 World Cup opener on February 9.

Whether the Proteas persist with rotation at the expense of results remains to be seen.

Teams (from):

India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, NT Tilak Verma, Shahbaz Ahmed, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Ottniel Baartman, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde.

Match Starts at 7pm.

(With PTI Inputs)