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 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.

India captain Rohit Sharma bristled at questions about his form and future in international cricket, saying on Wednesday he was fully focused on this month's one-day international series against England and the Champions Trophy.

Debutant pacer Harshit Rana (3/53) and seasoned left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3/26) shared six wickets between them as India bowled out England for a modest 248 in the first One-Day International on Thursday.

Harshit 3-53 India 251-6 (38.4 overs) Gill 87, Iyer 59; Mahmood 2-47 India won by four wickets; lead series 1-0 Scorecard England suffered another disappointing defeat in Brendon McCullum's first one-day international in charge as India won their series opener in Nagpur by four wickets.

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.