A much-improved bowling display delivered the first victory of Brendon McCullum’s white-ball reign, as England kept their series hopes alive despite being put in a familiar spin in the Third T20 in Rajkot.

Leading 2-0 and seeking the win that would have settled the five-match series, India looked on top at the midway stage thanks to the second five-for of Varun Chakaravathy’s T20I career.

After Ben Duckett’s 51 from 28 balls had given England comfortably their best start of the series, Varun exploited the tourists' vulnerability against the turning ball to claim a magnificent five-for-24.

The leg-spinner inspired England’s collapse from 83-for-one to 127-for-eight, with only some brutal six-hitting from Liam Livingstone ensuring the home side were set 172 for victory.

That appeared a below-par target, but England’s seamers made early breakthroughs before a trademark strangling spell of one-for-15 from Adil Rashid’s four overs put Jos Buttler’s side in charge.

Jamie Overton finished with three wickets, and Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse two apiece, as the home side fell 26 runs short.

Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav had kept up his perfect series record at the toss and India again struck early, with Phil Salt falling to the recalled Mohammed Shami for five, his highest score of a so-far horrid series.

Opening partner Duckett had fared equally poorly, out for three and four in Chennai and Kolkata, but scooped Shami for six and stayed in top gear. Five successive deliveries across two overs were hit for four, before Washington Sundar was whacked down the ground to take the left-hander to a rampant 38 from just 13 deliveries.

Varun halted the charge with a tight final over of the powerplay, but Buttler picked up the slack with some punishment of Ravi Bishnoi as the fielding restrictions lifted.

At that stage, a total in excess of 200 looked a realistic target, but England’s set pair fell in successive overs to start their collapse.

Buttler was snared by a wonderful Sanju Samson take and a fine India review, before Duckett holed out off Axar Patel having just brought up his first T20I half-century in two-and-a-half years.

Having already claimed the key Buttler wicket, Varun then ripped through England’s lower middle-order and was at one stage on a hat-trick after taking the scalps of Carse and Overton in successive balls.

Left with little alternative or company, Livingstone launched a late counter-attack, clearing the fence five times in his 43 from 24 balls. The innings would prove invaluable, with an unbroken stand of 24 between Mark Wood and Rashid - England’s joint-highest for the tenth wicket in T20s - equally handy in swelling the total.

Archer, fresh from conceding the worst figures of his T20 career in Chennai, removed Samson in the third over and then took a superb high catch to oust Abishek Verma off Carse’s bowling.

Wood was also among the powerplay wickets, before Rashid produced a ripping delivery to clean up the in-form Tilak Varma. The batter had made 336 runs between T20I dismissals, a run stretching back to successive unbeaten hundreds against South Africa last year. Rashid, though, did not give up a boundary in his spell.

Overton’s use as a lower-order hitter at seven is yet to reap reward, but the Surrey all-rounder showed his worth with the ball at the back of the chase, with his removal of Hardik Pandya for 40 spelling the end of India’s slim hopes.