Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel smashed half-centuries as India defeated England by four wickets in the opening one-day international on Thursday and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series that is a warmup for the Champions Trophy.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will return to the India fold after a month-long break. India will be missing the services of Jasprit Bumrah in the ODI series.

The three-match ODI series between India and England begins on February 6 in Nagpur. The series will be used as a dress rehearsal for the ICC Champions Trophy as both teams look to nail down their combinations and try out a couple of players.

The three-match series that gets underway in Nagpur on Thursday will be the final ODIs for India as well as England ahead of the Champions Trophy, meaning both teams will be looking to finalise their ideal playing XI and fine-tune their strategies for the mega event over the course of the next one week.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were the top two run-getters of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and will be eyeing strong performances in a format that they have dominated for several years

Fans showed no mercy to Rohit Sharma, who endured yet another failure in the 1st India vs England ODI at Nagpur.

India captain Rohit Sharma lashed out when asked about criticism of his form and captaincy, insisting on Wednesday he was fully focused on the upcoming ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy.