Shubman Gill missed out on a century by 13 runs but his huge stands with Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel took India to a four-wicket win with just over 11 overs to spare. | Crickit

Shubman Gill played a pivotal role in India's chase, anchoring the innings with a composed 87 runs as they chase

England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first as Virat Kohli misses out due to knee problem.

India started preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on a strong note and crushed England by four wickets in the first ODI.

Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja finished the run-chase in the 39th over after three wickets fell in quick succession. Adil Rashid and Saqib Mahmood took a couple of wickets each for England

India went into the match without the talismanic Virat Kohli, who was unavailable because of a sore right knee, and at that juncture losing Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) and Rohit Sharma (2) cheaply was a recipe for disaster. But Gill batted sensibly and with Iyer playing a counter-attacking innings, helped India to safety.

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.

Debutant Harshit Rana grabbed three wickets and vice-captain Shubman Gill hit 87 runs off 96 balls for India to beat England by four wickets in the first one-day international at VCA Stadium on Thursday.

Jos Buttler was holding the fort for England but he perished trying to go for a big shot with the young Jacob Bethell unable to get a move on at the other end.