England slipped to a 15-run defeat at the hands of India in a gripping fourth T20I on Friday, with the hosts taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.

Despite making a rapid start, the tourists could not hold out against India's spin, meaning Brendon McCullum's first series as white-ball coach ended in defeat.

India racked up 12 runs in the first over but were stunned in the second as Saqib Mahmood (3-35) took three wickets in quick succession, taking Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav for ducks and Sanju Samson for just one run.

However, Abhishek Sharma (29) and Rinku Singh (30) helped steady the ship from 12-3, before damage was done by the lower order.

Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya both scored 53 runs each off 34 and 30 balls respectively between the 16th and 19th overs and, having been kept at bay for much of the innings, the hosts stormed to 181-9.

Phil Salt (23) and Ben Duckett (39) made a strong start for England, but when the latter fell to Ravi Bishnoi (3-28) in the sixth over, they struggled to maintain their grip.

Harry Brook valiantly fought to 51 off 26 balls, but Harshit, who was controversially allowed to come in as a concussion substitute for Dube after he was hit on the helmet by an Overton bouncer, dismissed Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell, ending England's hopes of a fightback.

Harshit then ended Jamie Overton's stand at 19 before Bishnoi bowled Jofra Archer (0) with England slumping to 166 in the final over.

We fall just short in the chase, as India claim victory.

Congratulations to the hosts, who take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.

We will look to bounce back in the final match of the series in Mumbai on Sunday pic.twitter.com/c2Esp2HZbc

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 31, 2025

Data Debrief: England's grip faltered

England may well complain about Harshit's involvement as a concussion sub, but given the position they were in halfway through India's innings, they will also know it is a chance lost.

They were unbeaten in each of their last three men's T20I multi-game bilateral series (W2 D1). This marks their first such series defeat since a 3-2 loss away to the West Indies in December 2023.

There was something to cheer for Salt though, as he became the fifth English cricketer to score 1,000 runs away from home in men's T20s (1,013). It is the first time this series that he has managed to hit double figures, having previously managed five, four and 0.