England sealed a consolation win in the final T20I against India as a brilliant 77 from Dawid Malan and 3-22 from Reece Topley guided them to a 17-run win, despite a stunning first international century from Suryakumar Yadav.
Yadav struck a brutal 117 off just 55 balls, but was unable to single-handedly win the match for his side, getting caught by Phil Salt in the penultimate over before Chris Jordan closed out the innings expertly.
Having lost the first two T20Is comprehensively while chasing, England opted to bat first this time after Jos Buttler won the toss and they proceeded to post an imposing total of 215.
Buttler got his side off to a flier after two single-figure scores at the Rose Bowl and Edgbaston, scoring 14 runs off an over from Umran Malik. However, it was Malan who truly led the way for England, scoring 77 off just 39 balls at a strike-rate of almost 200.
Malan has been far from his best in T20I cricket recently, having averaged 21 with a strike-rate of just 105 in ten innings over the last 12 months. And with the depth of talent England has in white-ball cricket, very few players can be sure of their place in the side.
But if anyone had any questions about Malan's spot, he answered them emphatically with an excellent innings.
He showed great intent against favourable match-ups, notably scoring 28 off just 11 balls from left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Malan was excellently supported by Liam Livingstone, who benefitted from not coming in during the powerplay and struck four sixes in an unbeaten 42.
Late cameos from Harry Brook, 19 off nine, and Chris Jordan, 11 off three helped propel England to 215-8, their fifth-highest total in T20I history. And in response, Topley starred with the ball as India fell 17 runs short of their target, despite Yadav's magnificent effort.
England got off to a brilliant start when David Willey conceded just two from the first over and Topley followed it up by removing Rishabh Pant in an over that cost one. Virat Kohli did strike two excellent boundaries off Willey, but quickly fell for 11 when he slapped a catch to Jason Roy at short extra-cover.
When captain Rohit Sharma fell for 11, India looked in trouble at 31-3 while still in powerplay. However, Yadav proceeded to drag the visitors back into the match with an outstanding century, dominating an excellent 119-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer.
The 31-year-old looked almost imperious as he struck 117, India's second-highest individual T20I score, which included six sixes and 14 fours. However, no other India batter made more than 28 and when Yadav was dismissed by Moeen Ali in the 19th, the visitors' hopes of completing a series whitewash evaporated.
Jordan quickly wrapped things up with a brilliant final over, conceding just three runs and taking two wickets, as India reached 198-9. The win will come as a major relief for Buttler, who has now picked up his first victory since permanently replacing Eoin Morgan as England's white-ball captain.
