For England captain Harry Brook, this series against the world’s strongest limited overs team is another chance to prove himself as Stokes’ successor.

On Tuesday, Brook said he would accept the Test captaincy if it was offered and believes it is possible to captain all three England teams simultaneously.

On the field, in a repeat of a World Cup semi-final from earlier this year that India won, the visitors once again overlooked 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi despite a shock 2-0 series defeat in Ireland last week.

After winning the toss, India lost Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in the second over. Samson was caught magnificently by a flying Tom Banton off Saqib Mahmood, while Kishan was run out in a mix-up with Abhishek Sharma.

Abhishek made amends with some brutal knocks in his 24-ball 59: a Mahmood over was for 21, including two sixes struck.

Just when India threatened to cause chaos, Sam Curran came along and teed up Sharma with a slower, smarter ball. It gave England’s spinners a chance to control the score.

India captain Shreyas Iyer was patient and, helped by Shivam Dube, gave the momentum in the end.

India took 64 off the last six overs, exposing England’s wisdom in giving the 17th and 19th over to Adil Rashid. Shreyas made 68 off 47, Dube 42 not off 21, including a huge six from Curran in the last over.

The total seemed to be on par, opening up the possibility of an exciting contest, only for rain to have the last word.