Cape Town - England defeated India by nine runs in a high-scoring ODI thriller at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Friday.
Batting first, England made 335 for four in their allotted 50 overs, with the hosts replying with 316 for nine in 50 overs.
Openers Alastair Cook (75 off 83 balls) and Ian Bell (85 off 96) laid the platform for England.
James Tredwell (four for 44) was England's hero with the ball.
The second match in the five-match series will be in Kochi on January 15.
Teams:
India: G Gambhir, AM Rahane, V Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, SK Raina, MS Dhoni (captain & wk), RA Jadeja, R Ashwin, B Kumar, I Sharma, AB Dinda
England: AN Cook (captain), IR Bell, KP Pietersen, JE Root, EJG Morgan, C Kieswetter (wk), SR Patel, TT Bresnan, JC Tredwell, ST Finn, JW Dernbach