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.

The 1st ODI between India and England is on February 6 at Jamtha Stadium, Nagpur. India have a strong ODI record against England, winning 58 out of 107 matches.

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.

The innings only came about due to the absence of Virat Kohli, with the former skipper nursing a sore knee and rested from the contest and Iyer included at the last minute after receiving a phone call from captain Rohit Sharma.

England batsman Joe Root will make his first ODI appearance since 2023 after being named in the team to face India in the opening match of the series in Nagpur on Thursday. Root, England's leading test run scorer and second on the ODI list,

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.