Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan joined an elite list of batsmen in T20 internationals after his 36-run knock against the South Africans in the series finale at Bengaluru on Sunday.

The southpaw became only the fourth Indian batsman to complete 7,000 runs in T20 cricket and joined his fellow Indian batsman - Virat Kohli (8,547), vice-captain Rohit Sharma (8,303) and Suresh Raina (8,392) in achieving the milestone. Overall, he  became the 15th cricketer to do so.

The 33-year-old, who had amassed 6,996 runs in his T20 career before the start of the 3rd T20 against South Africa, struck the first ball of the match, bowled by Fortuin for a boundary past short fine-leg, and reached the landmark.

Legendary West Indies opener Chris Gayle tops the run scoring charts in T20 international cricket with a staggering 13,021 runs, followed by former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum (9,922) and Windies all-rounder Kieron Pollard (9,601). They are the only three to have scored more that nine thousand runs.

After Indian skipper Virat Kohli decided to bat first at the MA Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, Dhawan scored a quick-fire 36 off 25 balls to help India post 134/9 in their alloted 20 overs. The South Africans chased down the target in the 17th over with skipper De Kock powering the chase with a stellar 79-run knock.

South Africa levelled the 3-match T20 series 1-1 after India had won the second encounter at Mohali by seven wickets. The series opener at Dharamsala got washed away due to inceestent rains.