England beat India to keep T20 series alive

Third T20, Rajkot

England 171-9 (20 overs): Duckett 51 (28); Chakravarthy 5-24

India 145-9 (20 overs): Pandya 40 (35); Overton 3-24

England triumph by 26 runs; India pb five-match bid 2-1

Scorecard

England produced a beardown bowling show to bushed India by 26 runs successful Rajkot and support the T20 bid alive.

Having mislaid the opening 2 matches of the five-match series, England had to triumph the 3rd T20 to debar decision astatine the earliest opportunity.

Ben Duckett struck a 28-ball 51 and Liam Livingstone deed fives sixes successful his 43 from 21 arsenic England made what appeared to beryllium a below-par 171-9 connected a decent surface.

But a superb show from their bowling line-up kept India down the complaint and the location broadside fell good abbreviated of their people arsenic they finished connected 145-9.

Having been enactment into bat, Duckett helped the tourists commencement positively arsenic they reached 83-1 successful the ninth over.

But the innings turned successful India's favour erstwhile Buttler was judged caught down connected reappraisal for 24, and Duckett holed retired to mid-wicket disconnected the bowling of Axar Patel successful the pursuing over.

Buttler was the archetypal unfortunate of Varun Chakravarthy, with the leg-spinner bowling superbly to instrumentality 5-24 arsenic England mislaid 8-60.

India mislaid wickets steadily done their innings, portion Jamie Overton, who took 3-24, was the prime of 5 England bowlers who took wickets.

Hardik Pandya marshalled the 2nd fractional of India's innings, but his sluggish 40 from 35 failed to plaything the lucifer backmost successful the hosts' favour.

When helium was caught by Buttler astatine long-on disconnected Overton the lucifer was implicit astatine a contest, and England closed retired the triumph to inactive person a accidental of a bid victory.

The 4th lucifer of the bid is successful Pune connected Friday (13:30 GMT).

Playing connected a transportation that looked bully for a people of 200 oregon more, India's people of 172 looked eminently chaseable.

But England's seamers made aboriginal in-roads successful the powerplay, arsenic the hosts finished their archetypal six overs connected 51-3.

Jofra Archer had Sanju Samson caught astatine mid-on by Adil Rashid and past made a superb tumbling drawback to region Abhishek Sharma disconnected the bowling of Brydon Carse.

Mark Wood was the 3rd accelerated bowler to strike, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav skewing the shot into orbit earlier it dropped into the gloves of Phil Salt, who had taken implicit arsenic wicketkeeper aft Jamie Smith went disconnected injured.

Tilak Varma made an unbeaten 72 successful the past lucifer to instrumentality India to victory, but Rashid bowled him for 18 and Overton had Washington Sundar caught by Buttler astatine mid-on for six to permission the location broadside 85-5 successful the 13th over.

Pandya batted with Axar Patel for 31 balls, putting connected 48, but Archer removed the left-arm spinner to permission India needing 49 from 16 deliveries.

Pandya struck Archer for six 2 balls aboriginal but had near himself acold excessively overmuch to do.

England volition instrumentality bosom from their triumph but determination were inactive acquainted failings for Brendon McCullum's broadside arsenic they continued to conflict against India's artillery of spinners.

They person present mislaid 18 wickets to turning deliveries successful this series, a grounds for England successful T20 series, beating the 14 they doubly mislaid to New Zealand successful 2019 and 2023.

Harry Brook has seldom deed a speedbump successful his planetary career, but was bowled cheaply by a spinner for a 3rd lucifer successful a row, under-edging onto his stumps for 8 disconnected Ravi Bishnoi.

The Yorkshire batter, who is averaging 12.66 successful the series, was 1 of six England batters successful their apical 9 who was dismissed for azygous figures.

Jamie Smith, who impressed connected debut successful Chennai, became the archetypal of 4 successive Chakravarthy wickets, caught by Dhruv Jurel astatine mid-wicket.

Overton was bowled astir his legs from the pursuing transportation earlier Carse recovered Varma astatine quadrate limb and Archer had his stumps uprooted by a shot that spun hard.

Two wickets from seamer Pandya book-ended the 7 mislaid to spin, with the right-armer taking the opening wicket erstwhile Phil Salt drove consecutive to Abhishek Sharma.

The England opener's people of 5 was his champion of the series, and helium has not made it past the 2nd implicit of an innings.

Pandya removed Livingstone, but not earlier the all-rounder had got stuck successful with customary gusto, including 3 sixes from 1 Bishnoi over, scoring the runs that yet took England to victory, portion Rashid and Wood besides shared a captious basal of 24.