Nottingham: Suryakumar Yadav's 117 went in vain as England avoided whitewash and defeated India by 17 runs in the third and final T20I at Trent Bridge here on Sunday.
Yadav's 117 came off 55 balls which was decorated with 14 fours and 6 sixes to give India hope but the lower order crumbled and they finished on 198-9 from their 20 overs.
India began the chase poorly. In the hunt for 216 runs, India lost three wickets with just 31 runs on the board. Rishabh Pant fell in the second over before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli walked back to pavilion for 11 runs each.
Yadav and Shreyas Yadav sewed up 119 runs for the fourth wicket to keep the hopes alive for India.
Iyer and Dinesh Karthik did not last long and departed, but Yadav continued his blitzkrieg to take India closer to the target.
Sky (Suryakumar Yadav) dismissal in the 19th over nearly sealed India's fate, leaving India to score 21 runs in the last over Harshel Patel and Avesh Khan at the crease.
Chris Jordan picked up two wickets in the over as England won the match, though India hogged the limelight for winning the T20I series 2-1.
Earlier, Dawid Malan cracked a splendid 77 (6x4s 5x6s), before Liam Livingstone led England to 215 for 7. His unbeaten 42 from 29 balls proved vital for England after India won the opening match by 50 runs and completed a 49-run victory on Saturday to clinch the series.
England batsmen put to use small boundaries at Trent Bridge by regularly smashing the ball over the fence, even though they lost wickets at regular intervals.
Malan and Livingstone weaved a vital 84 runs partnership as England managed to cross the 200-run mark.
For India, Ravi Bishnoi and Harshal Patel took two wickets each.
Earlier, England had won the toss and elected to bat.
The teams next play three one-day internationals starting at The Oval on Tuesday.
Brief Scores: England- 215/7 (Dawid Malan 77, Liam Livingstone 42*, Ravi Bishnoi 2/30) defeated India- 198/9 (Suryakumar Yadav 117, Shreyas Iyer 28, Reece Topley 3/22) by 17 runs. (UNI)
