India's white-ball dominance over England continued after they secured a four-wicket win in their opening one-day clash in Nagpur on Thursday.
Fresh from demolishing Jos Buttler's side 4-1 in the recent T20 series, India warmed up for the upcoming Champions Trophy by coasting to victory with 68 balls to spare at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, England fell well short of a competitive total when they were bowled out for 248.
The tourists failed to capitalise on a solid start from Phil Salt and Ben Duckett who reached 75 without loss before both fell within four balls.
Salt hammered Rana for three sixes and two fours in a 26-run sixth over but a mix-up with fellow opener Ben Duckett saw him run out for 43.
Rana came back from that pasting with two wickets in one over including Duckett, for 32, and Harry Brook, for a duck, to leave England at 77-3.
England's wickets then tumbled with alarming regularity with only captain Buttler (52) and Jacob Bethell (51) reaching their half-centuries, while Joe Root could only manage 19 on his ODI return.
The visitors were thankful to some late big-hitting from Jofra Archer – who smashed 21 off 18 balls – to drag their score just shy of the 250 mark.
Rana and Ravindra Jadeja did the damage with the ball for India, finishing with 3-53 and 3-26, respectively.
“Disappointed not to win the game,” insisted Buttler after the match.” “Thought we got off to a fantastic start in the powerplay. The openers got off to a great start but to lose four wickets was frustrating. An extra 40-50 runs would have been crucial.”
England's new-ball pair came out firing in their bid to defend the low total and Jofra Archer had ODI debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal caught behind for 15.
Captain Rohit Sharma fell, on two, five balls later after his mistimed flick went high up and into the hands of Liam Livingstone at mid-on off Saqib Mahmood.
A struggling Rohit, who averages just 10.37 runs in his 16 innings across formats in the 2024-25 season, walked back to stunned silence with India on 19-2.
But that brought together Shubman Gill (87 off 96 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (59 off 36) with pair combining to take the game away from England with a partnership of 94.
A run-a-ball stand of 108 between Gill and Axar Patel (52 off 47) took India past 200 before three quick wickets fell to give England a glimmer of hope with the hosts wobbling on 235-6.
But it was to prove only a slight scare as Hardik Pandya (nine not out) and Jadeja (12 not out) guided India over the line for a comfortable win.
Fast-bowler Mahmood finished with 2-47 from his 6.4 overs, while spinner Adil Rashid took 2-48 from his 10.
“Pretty happy because we knew we were coming after a long time to this format,” said Rohit, who was without the services Virat Kohli for the start of a three-match series due to a sore right knee.
“We wanted to quickly regroup and understand what is to be done. We didn't start off well with their openers putting pressure on us, but the way we came back was superb.
“This is a longish format when you have time to come back in the game. When things start coming away from you, it doesn't mean it'll keep coming away.
“Credit to the bowlers, everyone chipped in. We took wickets at crucial times and the energy was great on the field.”
The second ODI is on Sunday in Cuttack while the Champions Trophy begins in Pakistan on February 19. India, though, will be playing their matches in the UAE due to the country's continuing political tensions with Pakistan.
India play Bangladesh on February 20, take on Pakistan on February 23 and round off the group with a match against New Zealand on March 2, with all games at the Dubai International Stadium.
The UAE will also host the semi-final and final if India reach the tournament's later stages. England face old rivals Australia in their opening match on February 22, then tackle Afghanistan on February 26 – both in Lahore – before going up against South Africa in Karachi.
