England sealed a 26-run victory over India in the third T20I on Tuesday in Rajkot to keep themselves alive in the five-match series. England staged their comeback while sticking to their aggressive approach to keep the series alive. After slipping to 127/8 in 16 overs, England appeared to be heading towards a third consecutive defeat but they somehow managed to post a challenging total of 171/9 in 20 overs, with Mark Wood and Adil Rashid forging an unbroken last-wicket partnership of 24.
Defending the total, England pacers struck with three scalps in the powerplay itself, allowing skilled Adil Rashid to inflict more punishment on Indian batters. Rashid returned with the figures of 1-15 from four overs and England effectively restricted India to 145/9 in 20 overs, clinching a comprehensive win. Reacting to England's victory, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav credited Adil Rashid for the visitors' win.
"I felt there would be a little dew later in the day. I feel we had the game in our hands when Hardik and Axar were batting. Credit goes to Adil Rashid, he bowled really well. That's why he is a world-class bowler. He didn't allow us to rotate the strike," Suryakumar said during the post-match presentation.
"I feel you always learn something from a T20 game. I felt when we were bowling around 127/8 to 170, I think that was too much at the end. We've got to learn from the batting point of view. Got to go back to the drawing board and learn from our mistakes,” he said.
For India, England nemesis Varun Chakaravarthy returned with five wickets. However, England had a great start, with Ben Duckett scoring 51 off 28. Meanwhile, the fourth T20I will be held on Friday in Pune.