England beat India by 26 runs in third T20 International in Rajkot

New Delhi: England beat India by 26 runs in the third T20 International here on Tuesday, but still trail the five-match series 1-2.

Chasing a target of 172, India ended at 145 for 9 in 20 overs with Hardik Pandya top-scoring with 40 off 35 balls.

For England, Jamie Overton (3/23) took three wickets while Jofra Archer (2/33) and Brydon Carse (2/28) got two apiece.

Earlier, Varun Chakravarthy was all over England with splendid figures of 4-0-24-5 as the visitors could only manage 171/9.

The right-arm spinner Chakravarthy accounted for Jos Buttler (24), Jamie Smith (6), Jamie Overton (0), Brydon Carse (3) and Jofra Archer (0) to record his second five-for in the shortest format.

England, who lost wickets in a cluster, were cruising at 83 for one in the ninth over but slipped to 127 for eight after 16 overs.

For England, Ben Duckett (51 off 28 balls; 7x4s, 2x6s) provided fireworks at the top, while Liam Livingstone’s 24-ball 43 with five sixes and a four pushed them past the 150-mark.

Brief Scores:

England 171/9 in 20 overs (Ben Duckett 51, Liam Livingstone 43; Hardik Pandya 2/33, Varun Chakravarthy 5/24).

India: 145 for 9 in 20 overs (Hardik Pandya 40; Jamie Overton 3/24, Jofra Archer 2/33, Brydon Carse 2/28).