England triumphed over India by 26 runs in the third T20I held on January 28 in Rajkot, Gujarat, thereby keeping the five-match series competitive with a scoreline of 2-1. England set a target of 172 runs, which India was unable to meet despite a promising start from Abhishek Sharma.
In their pursuit of 172, India faced early setbacks, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 24 runs off 14 balls and Sanju Samson managing only 3 runs before being dismissed.
Jofra Archer's formidable pace continued to trouble the Indian batsmen. Samson, who scored 3 runs from 6 balls, was cramped by a short delivery and ended up hitting a catch to Adil Rashid at mid-on.
Abhishek Sharma, who had scored 24 runs, was dismissed in the following over when he was caught by Archer, marking Brydon Carse's first wicket of the match.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav struggled to find his rhythm, scoring 14 runs off 7 balls. Although he started quickly, he could not build on it, leaving India at 51/3 by the end of the powerplay, making the chase increasingly difficult for the home side.
Tilak Varma was unable to turn the tide for India, and Washington Sundar's promotion in the batting order did not yield positive results.
India found themselves in a precarious position at 85/5 in 12.1 overs after Sundar's exit, desperately needing a turnaround. Hardik Pandya (40) and Axar Patel (15) were at the crease, contemplating the daunting task of scoring 86 runs in the remaining 47 balls.
The management's choice to elevate Sundar in the batting order ahead of Axar certainly sparked some surprise. With wickets tumbling at both ends, India found themselves on the brink of an unavoidable defeat.
Needing 32 runs in the final over, India's loss seemed imminent. Brydon Carse dismissed Dhruv Jurel with the very first ball, leaving India stranded at 145/9 with little effort required.
Earlier in the game, India won the toss and chose to field first. England got off to another rocky start, with Phil Salt playing a poor shot against a slow delivery from Hardik Pandya. Brook followed shortly after, scoring just five runs off seven balls, caught brilliantly by Abhishek Sharma in the covers. England was left at 7/1 after 1.3 overs.
Ben Duckett then partnered with captain Jos Buttler, who initially struggled against the pace. In contrast, Duckett was in fine form, hitting Pandya for three consecutive fours and then taking spinner Washington Sundar for two fours and a six in the following over.
England reached the 50-run milestone in just 5.1 overs.
By the end of the sixth over, England stood at 52/1, with Duckett on 39* and Buttler on 8*. In the seventh over, Buttler found his rhythm against Ravi Bishnoi, striking a four and a six.
However, the partnership between Duckett and Buttler was broken by Varun Chakravarthy, as Sanju Samson executed a stumping to dismiss the English captain for 24 runs off 22 balls, which included a four and a six. England's score was 83/2 after nine overs.
India concluded the first half of the innings with another wicket secured, as Abhishek Sharma made an impressive catch at long-on, allowing Axar Patel to dismiss Duckett for 51 runs off 28 balls, which included seven fours and two sixes. At this point, England's score stood at 87/3 after 10 overs.
Liam Livingstone and Harry Brook propelled their team past the 100-run mark in 11.4 overs.
However, following this achievement, England faced a rapid decline, losing three wickets in quick succession. Ravi Bishnoi dismissed Harry Brook for a mere eight runs off 10 balls, leaving England at 108/4 in 12.4 overs.
In the 14th over, Varun struck twice in consecutive deliveries, sending Jamie Smith (6) and Jamie Overton back to the pavilion, which brought England down to 115/6.
The spinner continued his impressive performance, achieving his second five-wicket haul in T20Is by taking out Brydon Carse (3) and Jofra Archer (0) in the 16th over, leaving England at 127/8.
Livingstone alleviated some of the pressure in the following over, hitting Bishnoi for three sixes. Nevertheless, his explosive innings came to an end when Hardik Pandya dismissed him in the next over, with Dhruv Jurel catching the ball at long-on. Livingstone scored 43 runs off 28 balls, featuring one four and five sixes. England's score was 147/9 in 17.1 overs.
Mark Wood and Adil Rashid managed to guide England to a respectable total of 171/9 by the end of their 20 overs, both remaining not out on 10 runs.
