England beat India to keep T20 series alive

England defeated India by 26 runs in Rajkot, with an impressive bowling performance keeping the T20 series alive. Having lost the first two matches of the five-match series, England had to win the third T20 to avoid an early series defeat.

Ben Duckett’s 51 off 28 balls and Liam Livingstone’s 43 off 21 (including five sixes) helped England to 171-9 on what looked like a decent pitch, a score slightly below par. However, England’s strong bowling attack managed to restrict India’s scoring rate, with the home side eventually finishing well short of their target on 145-9.

Asked to bat first, Duckett helped the visitors get off to a positive start, reaching 83-1 in the ninth over. But the momentum began to shift towards India after Buttler was given out caught in the replay for 24, and Duckett was bowled next over by Axar Patel. Buttler was the first of Varun Chakravarthy’s victims, the leg-spinner performing well to help England lose eight wickets for just 60 runs, finishing with figures of 5-24.

India lost wickets regularly throughout their innings, with Jamie Overton the pick of five England bowlers to take wickets, finishing with 3-24. Hardik Pandya controlled the tempo of India’s innings in the second half, but his 40 off 35 balls was not enough to swing the match back in the home side's favor. When he was caught by Overton at long-on, the game was effectively over, with England securing the win and keeping their hopes of winning the series alive. The fourth match of the series will be held in Pune on Friday (13:30 GMT).

Playing on a pitch that looked like it would be good for 200 or more, India’s target of 172 looked easily chaseable. But England’s seamers made early inroads in the powerplay, with the home side reaching just 51-3 at the end of the first six overs. Jofra Archer had Sanju Samson caught in the deep by Adil Rashid, before taking a brilliant diving catch to dismiss Abhishek Sharma off Brydon Carse’s bowling. Mark Wood was the third seamer to take a wicket, with India captain Suryakumar Yadav skying a ball into the gloves of Phil Salt, who had taken over the wicketkeeping duties after Jamie Smith went off injured.

Tilak Varma, who had scored an unbeaten 72 to help India win the previous match, was bowled by Rashid for 18, finishing with figures of 1-15 in his four overs, while Overton had Washington Sundar caught in the deep by Buttler for six, leaving the home side 85-5 in the 13th over. Pandya and Axar Patel put on 48 for the sixth wicket off 31 balls, but Archer dismissed the left-arm spinner, leaving India needing 49 off 16 balls. Pandya hit Archer for a six two balls later, but he had left himself with too much to do.

England will take encouragement from their win, but there were still some familiar failings for Brendon McCullum’s side, as they continued to struggle against India’s spinners. They have now lost 18 wickets to spin in the series, their highest in a T20 series, surpassing the 14 they lost twice to New Zealand in 2019 and 2023. Harry Brook, who has rarely encountered a hurdle in his international career, was bowled for just eight by Ravi Bishnoi, falling to spin for the third consecutive match. The Yorkshire batter averages just 12.66 in the series and was one of six England batters in their top nine to be dismissed for single-figure scores.

Jamie Smith, who had impressed on his debut in Chennai, was the first of Chakravarthy’s four consecutive wickets, caught in the deep by Dhruv Jurel. Overton was then lbw next ball, before Carse found Varma at square leg, and Archer’s ball spun sharply to knock back his stumps. The loss of seven wickets to spin was ended by seamer Pandya’s two wickets, with the right-arm bowler getting his first wicket when Phil Salt ran out Abhishek Sharma with a direct hit. The England opener’s five runs were his best of the series, having not got past two in any of his innings. Pandya dismissed Livingstone, but the all-rounder had played with his usual gusto before his dismissal, including hitting three sixes in one over off Bishnoi, ultimately helping England to victory, with Rashid and Wood also sharing a crucial 24 runs.

England captain Jos Buttler said: “You probably think we lost wickets in clusters, but we got to 170, which is a very good score. I like the way we are constantly challenging the game. If you are disappointed with your performance and still get 170, that is a great achievement.” On leg-spinner Adil Rashid, Buttler said: “He is a massive player for us. He bowled fantastically tonight, lots of variations and changes of pace. We are very lucky to have him in our side.” India captain Suryakumar Yadav said: “With Hardik and Axar, we were still in the game. Credit to Adil (Rashid), he bowled really well. We were looking to rotate the strike. That is why he is a world-class bowler. You always learn something from T20 games. We let them get too many runs at the end.”