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.

NAGPUR, India — Joe Root is back in England's ODI team for the first time since the 2023 Cricket World Cup. The 34-year-old Root will bat at No. 3 in the first match of the one-day international series against India in Nagpur on Thursday. It will be his 172nd ODI appearance for England.

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.

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,

After bagging three wickets against England at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday, India seamer Harshit Rana reflected on Nagpur's pitch and said that the wicket is slightly double-paced.

Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Harshit Rana played pivotal roles in India's four-wicket win over England in the first ODI in Nagpur Team India kicked off the three match ODI series on a good note with a four-wicket against England in the first game at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday,

Team India delivered a commanding performance to defeat England by four wickets in the first ODI of the series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. Despite an early setback in their chase of 249,