Australia maintained their place at the top of the world T20 rankings after surviving a middle-order collapse to beat England by five wickets in the third T20I.

SCORECARD | AS IT HAPPENED

Needing 146 to win, the run-rate was never a problem, but Adil Rashid’s three-wicket burst got rid of Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith and left the tourists 100-5.

However, Mitch Marsh – dropped twice by Dawid Malan off Rashid (3-21) – made the most of his good fortune to score a valuable 39no and Ashton Agar made an unbeaten 16 to see Australia home with three balls to spare.

England win the series 2-1 but having rested Jos Buttler and left out captain Eoin Morgan after he dislocated his finger in the previous game, they missed the chance of a clean sweep that would have taken them to world No 1 as they stuttered to 145-6, with Jonny Bairstow making 55.

Moeen Ali led England in the absence of Morgan but Australia skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and put the hosts in to bat.

Tom Banton moved up to open but was unable to give England the kind of rapid starts Buttler had managed in the past two games as he edged the returning Josh Hazlewood (1-23) behind for two.

Bairstow has struggled for runs this summer and found the going tough early on, attempting a number of big shots but invariably mistimed timed them.

At the other end, the in-form Malan (21) was just beginning to warm to his task, only for a fine catch from Marcus Stoinis in the deep to send him packing and give Adam Zampa (2-34) his first wicket.

His second came soon after as Sam Billings (4) gloved a reverse sweep and Finch took a sharp catch at slip, just a couple of balls after Bairstow had sent a slog sweep high over deep midwicket for a huge six.

The timing was evidently coming back for Bairstow and he reached a 41-ball fifty with another mammoth hit, this time back over Zampa’s head, but the opener was unable to kick on, top-edging a shorter ball from Ashton Agar that stopped in the pitch and the bowler ran round to take a steepling return catch.

Moeen (23) hit a lovely straight six of his own but fell to another good piece of fielding, this time from Steve Smith at deep midwicket – the former skipper catching the ball with his boot millimetres from the boundary cushion and throwing it up before getting safely inside to complete the catch.

England’s cause was helped by three successive, slightly fortunate boundaries for Joe Denly (29no) in the 18th over – all off the edge, two outside and one inside, as Kane Richardson deceived him with his slower deliveries.

The Aussie bowler finished the innings off well though, removing Chris Jordan (4) in the last over, as England mustered just nine runs from the last two overs from Mitchell Starc (1-20) and Richardson (1-31).

The chase began with a bang as Matthew Wade, in for the rested David Warner, launched the last ball of Jofra Archer’s over high over deep backward square for a stunning six, making it 16 from the over.

Wade (14) went a couple of overs later though, caught at mid-on off Mark Wood (1-38) after miscuing a pull shot as the ball skidded on to him.

The runs kept coming though through Finch and Stoinis as Australia finished the powerplay 33 ahead of where England had been at the same stage and it took a back-of-the-hand slower ball from Tom Curran (1-23) to break the stand, Stoinis (26) holing out to deep square leg.

Glenn Maxwell was nearly run out with facing a ball but Billings’ throw was just off target. It didn’t prove too costly though as he fell for six, top-edging a reverse sweep off Rashid to Curran at backward point.

Finch was the key wicket though and Rashid should have had it when the big-hitting opener skied an attempted sweep shot. Bairstow came running from behind the stumps but having done well to make the ground, he dropped a straightforward catch.

Rashid did get his man eventually, producing a near-perfect googly to entice the drive and then spin back through the gate to peg back leg stump. Finch gone for 39.

The leggie should have had Marsh but twice Malan passed up opportunities at slip. However, Rashid was not done and for the third time in the series, he struck with the final ball of his spell – and it was the big wicket of Smith (3), who sent a leading edge back to the bowler.

Marsh and Agar regrouped though and with the run-rate always manageable, it did not take long for them to put Australia back on top. Marsh, in particular, enjoyed the return of the England seamers and pulled Wood powerfully over the legside for six.

That brought the required rate down to less than a run-a-ball and when Agar hit Curran for four in the penultimate over, the job was all-but done with just one needed from the final over.

Jordan bowled it and started with two dot balls but a quick single from the third sealed the win and gives Australia a boost going into the three-match ODI series at Emirates Old Trafford, starting later this week.

Watch the first one-day international between England and Australia from 12.30pm, Friday on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event.