England Keeps Series Alive with 26-run Victory Over India

England kept their hopes alive in the series by defeating India by 26 runs in the third T20I. With this win, England has reduced India's lead to 2-1 in the five-match series.

At the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, England won the toss and opted to bat first. Despite losing Phil Salt for just 5 runs, the partnership between Ben Duckett and Jos Buttler revived England’s innings. The duo added 76 runs off 45 balls for the second wicket. Buttler was dismissed for 24, while Duckett scored a brilliant 51 off 28 balls, including 7 fours and 2 sixes.

Liam Livingstone played a cameo, scoring 43 runs off 24 balls with 5 sixes and 1 four. However, England’s innings stalled due to some fine bowling from Varun Chakravarthy, who took 5 wickets. In the end, England finished with a total of 171/9.

India’s bowling efforts were led by Chakravarthy, who was the standout performer with figures of 24 runs for 5 wickets, earning him the "Player of the Match" award. Hardik Pandya also took 2 wickets.

Chasing 172 runs, India’s top order faltered early. Sanju Samson was dismissed for just 3, while Abhishek Sharma could only manage 24 runs before being dismissed. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma also failed to make a big impact, with both players getting out for 14 and 18 runs, respectively. India was reduced to 85/5, putting them in a precarious situation.

Hardik Pandya held the innings together, scoring 40 runs, and added 38 runs with Axar Patel off 31 balls. However, after Patel’s dismissal for 15, India’s middle order collapsed. The team’s slow scoring and consistent wickets meant they were always behind the required run rate. In the end, India was bowled out for 145, falling 26 runs short of the target.

For England, Jamie Overton was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets. Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse claimed 2 wickets each. Despite the loss, India still leads the series 2-1, but England has kept the series alive with this crucial win.