England beat India by 26 runs in the Rajkot T20I to make a comeback in the five-match T20I series, as the visitors are trailing by 2-1 in the series with two more to be played. With this win, the series is now 2-1 in favour of the hosts India with two matches yet to be played.

Leading the series by 2-0, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav chose to field first after winning the toss for the third straight time in this series. While England scored 171/9 in 20 overs, India only managed to score 145/9 in 20 overs. 

See Also: Mohammed Shami returns to international cricket after 14 months

Varun Chakravarthy recorded a fifer, Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone had important contributions

Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy took five wickets (5/24), as England faced a sudden collapse from 83/1 to 127/8. While the opener Ben Duckett scored 51 off 28 balls, and the in-form skipper Jos Buttler scored 24 runs, Liam Livingstone scored the crucial 43 off 24 balls with one four and five sixes. 

No strong reply from Indian batters against disciplined English bowlers

England bowlers completely dominated in the second innings, while Adil Rashid once again amazed with his mastery (4-0-15-1), including picking up the wicket of in-form Tilak Verman (18). Only Hardik Pandya (40) and Abhishek Sharma (24) scored 20+ runs in that innings, while Jamie Overton (3/24), Brydon Carse (2/28), and Jofra Archer (2/33) claimed more than one wicket.

Here are some Twitter reactions to the Rajkot T20I

Absolute seed🔥🔥.
Scrambled seam and serious side spin.
Top bowling Adil Rashid🤝🤝#INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/9omCsdmaxU

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) January 28, 2025

 

Back to back wickets !! Indian fans right now 😒😒#INDvsENG #INDvENG Varun Harry Brook PHIL Salt Ben Duckett Bishnoi Sanju Samson
Archer Suryakumar Yadav....✌️👍 pic.twitter.com/sBI82dgSjW

— ✿Sᴀᴍʀɪᴅᴅʜɪ (@Samriddhi2025) January 28, 2025

MI fans watching captain Hardik pandya and SKY's batting in every match

#INDvsENG #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/XfC5Jgn7r4

— KohliForever (@KohliForever0) January 28, 2025

Blockbuster Varun continues to deliver! 🍿

How many wickets will he finish the #IndvsENG T20I series with?

10 - 12
12 - 15
15 - 20
#AmiIndia | Varun Chakaravarthy pic.twitter.com/oFO97Nyk3N

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) January 28, 2025

Livingstone cooked with 5 sixes and won the game for his team. 🔥🔥✊pic.twitter.com/2UbEpXr6H9

— Rahul Singh (@rahulsinggghhh) January 28, 2025

SIR LIAM LIVINGSTONE SHOW pic.twitter.com/xUAW1CcO38

— 😎🙇🙇 (@Kohliuniverse1) January 28, 2025

 

#INDvENG #INDvsENG

When no one is discussing about your contribution, whether it’s a win or loss🥹.

Gambhir saab, time to bring PR team to the rescue🤪 pic.twitter.com/1lSPlU3a9c

— Mastikhor 🤪 (@ventingout247) January 28, 2025

Another day of realising that not everyone is Virat Kohli.#ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/Bk89oUmzNT

— one8.xe🇮🇳 (@one8xe) January 28, 2025

Surya kumar yadav #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/f9EzCamD9e

— ᴊᴀʟꜱᴀ ᴋᴏʜʟɪ (@jalsakohli) January 28, 2025

Varun Chakravarthy in today's match v/s England be like 💥💥#INDvsENG #INDVENG
Ben Duckett Phil Salt Harry Brook pic.twitter.com/IZEel7xdsI

— Homskyra (@homskyra) January 28, 2025

RCB fans watching Phil Salt's batting in every match ...💔

#INDvsENG
pic.twitter.com/T7MauUB7x7

— Braj shyam maurya (@brijshyam07) January 28, 2025