Team India skipper Rohit Sharma stated that the motive behind promoting Axar Patel at number five in the first ODI was to maintain the left-right hand combination and to utilize his improved batting skills.

Chasing a modest target of 249 after Ravindra Jadeja (3-26) and debutant Harshit Rana (3-53) helped bundle out England for less than 250, India lost Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal with 19 runs on the board. Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer (59) added 94 runs for the third wicket. But the crucial decision to promote Axar Patel paid rich dividends as the allrounder scored a superb 52 and shared a 108-run partnership with Gill, who top-scored with 87, as India won the match by four wickets with 11 overs to spare.