England beat India by 26 runs in the third T20 International to keep the five-match series alive. The visitors successfully defended 171 after India could only manage 145/9 in their chase.

A strong bowling effort from England helped them stay in the series, with Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone leading the charge with the bat. Duckett, who scored a quick-fire 51 off 28 balls, was the top scorer for England. Livingstone contributed 43 from 24 balls to bolster their total to 171/9.

For India, Varun Chakravarthy’s remarkable five-wicket haul went in vain as the team struggled with the bat. India’s top order collapsed early, with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma both falling during the Powerplay. India’s chase never gained momentum and they finished at 145/9.

England's innings started solidly after they were invited to bat by India. Despite losing early wickets, Duckett added 76 runs with Jos Buttler, who fell to Chakravarthy in the ninth over. England seemed in trouble at 127/8 but Livingstone’s late surge helped them reach a competitive total.

India’s chase was marred by early setbacks. The top-order faltered as Suryakumar Yadav fell to Mark Wood and Tilak Varma was dismissed by Adil Rashid. Pandya (40) and Axar Patel (15) tried to rebuild the innings but India came up 26 runs short.

Chakravarthy, who picked up five wickets for 24 runs in four overs, achieved his second T20I fifer. He is now only the third Indian to record multiple five-wicket hauls in T20I cricket, joining Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

With the win, England has narrowed the series deficit to 1-2. India will look to bounce back in the next match to clinch the series.