India vs England Match Preview, 1st ODI

England will look to bounce back from the recent 4-1 T20I series loss as they face a strong Indian line-up in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 06. With the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 just a few weeks away, both teams see this as a crucial opportunity to fine-tune their squads and regain momentum.

The Men in Blue welcomes back its senior stars, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul, as they make their return to white-ball cricket after a brief gap. In 2024, India played just one ODI series, a shock 2-0 defeat to Sri Lanka. With Gautam Gambhir as head coach, the hosts will be looking to once again display their brilliance in this format.

However, India will be without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was quietly removed from the squad over his fitness concerns. The BCCI has made a last-minute inclusion to their squad, in the form of mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy who was the Player of the Series in the T20Is against the Three Lions.

Also Check: Chakaravarthy added to India's squad for England ODIs, Bumrah ruled out

For England, the ODI series will be a chance to recover from a disappointing T20I leg, where they suffered a 4-1 defeat. Jos Buttler’s men were largely outplayed by a young Indian side. However, England will be confident with the return of star batter Joe Root. With 6522 runs at an average of 47.60, Root’s presence will strengthen the English batting line up.

Match Details

Pitch Report

The surface at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur generally offers excellent batting conditions. There will be minimal help for the seamers, while the batters will enjoy the track's even pace and bounce to score runs, especially when the ball is new and hard. The spinners are expected to get some turn in the middle overs.

There have been nine ODIs played at this venue, with the last one being in March 2019 between India and Australia. Teams have enjoyed more success batting second, with six wins for the chasing sides as compared to three for batting first teams.