India vs England 1st ODI: Alex Hales out of opening one-day international against India

Injured England batsman Alex Hales was ruled out of the opening one day international against India at Nottingham's Trent Bridge on Thursday, with Dawid Malan replacing him in the squad.

England said Nottinghamshire player Hales, who averaged 48 in the recent Twenty20 series that England lost 2-1 to India, had a side injury and would be monitored on a match by match basis. Hales was the hero of England's victory in the second T20I.   

India will eye another dominant performance as they take on England in the first ODI of the three-match series on Thursday. India will be keep to perform well in series that is being dubbed as a 'dry run' ahead of the World Cup next year.

The series may also enable Indian team management to mix and match the various combinations, keeping World Cup in mind.

India are on a high after an impressive Twenty20 series win. However, England, the top ranked ODI team in world cricket, come into the series having crushed a below-par Australia 6-0 in their last bilateral engagement. For England, the series against Australia was a real morale booster where the team scored a world record total 481 in one of the ODIs.