England's only significant change in the India series was a new opening combination of Ben Duckett and Jacob Bethell, and it bore fruit at Lord's.

The left-handed duo became England's sixth opening pair since the 2023 World Cup, with Phil Salt, Jamie Smith and Zak Crawley currently out of contention and Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed considerations for the middle order after spells at the top.

They had a decent start in the first ODI at Edgbaston, putting on 63, but Duckett was dismissed first ball in the second fixture at Cardiff, with Bethell following shortly afterwards as England found themselves 8-2.

In London, however, the pair flogged a tired India attack, taking advantage of benign batting conditions to put on the highest ODI opening stand at Lord's, with Duckett pressing on for his fourth century in the format.

Bethell, who has not previously batted higher than four for England in white-ball cricket, started his ODI opening career with innings of 14 and four, but cut a composed figure at the Home of Cricket.

He played in a typically positive fashion, striking at 97.85 as he plundered 11 fours and two sixes before falling for 91, just short of a second ODI ton.

The 22-year-old's promotion up the order means England can carry an extra bowler, with the hosts fielding three seamers and spinner Adil Rashid alongside all-rounders Sam Curran and Will Jacks in the latter two matches of this series.

If England are to regain the World Cup, having surrendered it meekly in 2023, much of the responsibility will rest on Joe Root's shoulders.

The 35-year-old struggled by his standards in the one-day format for a number of years following the 2019 victory, averaging just 29 between 2020 and 2023, and his record saw him left out of the ODI set-up for the entirety of 2024.

However since his recall, Root has enjoyed a remarkable uptick in form, averaging 81.5 from 21 innings with four centuries.

He has now made six consecutive scores over 50, stretching back to the start of the series in Sri Lanka in January, becoming the first England batter to achieve that feat.

Root's unbeaten 76 at Edgbaston kept England in contention, with a 121-run partnership with Liam Dawson coming between collapses of 6-107 and 4-30, while an undefeated 99 in Cardiff anchored England's successful chase.

Coming in after the record-breaking opening stand on Sunday, Root enjoyed a rare opportunity to cut loose, with his strike-rate of 154.17 the highest of any ODI score over 50 in his ODI career.

By reaching the end of the innings on 74, he recorded his fourth consecutive not out innings, and his run of 360 runs since his last dismissal is currently the seventh highest in the history of the format.