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 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.

In a twist of fate, the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy ended in a joint victory for India and Sri Lanka. While Sri Lanka set a target of 245 in the final in Colombo, India's innings was halted due to heavy rain. The match was rescheduled for the next day but interrupted by rain again washed out the match.