Rajkot ODI: England beat India by 9 runs

Match as it happened

Scorecard

England beat India by nine runs in a closely fought contest in the first one-day international played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Friday after setting the hosts a mammoth 326 run target

England held their nerve to restrict India to 316 for nine and take 1-0 lead in the five-match series

Earlier, openers Ian Bell and Alastair Cook posted a record opening stand of 158 for England against India to set the tone for a high scoring first innings target

Cook scored 75 (83 balls) and Bell scored 85 (96 balls), while Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Samit Patel all chipped in with 40 plus scores

Almost every Indian bowler was taken to the task by the England batsmen with fast bowler AB Dinda snaring two wickets

India got off to a flying start with Gautam Gambhir (52) and Ajinkya Rahane (47) adding 96 for the first-wicket

Virat Kohli's bad phase of run continued, as he couldn't make any significant contribution. But Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina scored blistering half-centuries to keep India in the hunt

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni smacked four humongous sixes before getting out for 32

No other batsman could make any other important contributions in the game. However, tailender Bhuvneshwar Kumar did try his best and did manage to take India close to the target

JC Tredwell took four wickets for England and was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant bowling performance

This was England's first ODI win in India after 2006, and has killed Indian hopes of taking the number one status in the ICC ODI rankings, as the hosts needed a 5-0 whitewash over the tourists to reclaim their top dog position.