Skipper Kohli lost the toss yet again and were put in to bat by English captain, Eoin Morgan.
India started explosively when Rohit Sharma deposited the first ball of the contest, an Adil Rashid googly, for a six over long off.
But Rohit fell cheaply after failing to read a slower ball from Jofra Archer, getting caught and bowled for just 12, with the score at 21.
However, it was just the moment Suryakumar Yadav has been waiting for, all his life.
An opportunity to show the world what he is capable of, when he is wearing the India colours!
The Mumbai Indians player smashed a thunderous 57 in just 31 balls, with 6 fours and 3 sixes, betraying no sign of nerves or anxiety during the big occasion.
What will remain in memory for long is the way he pulled his first ball in international cricket for a six, with his leading leg in the air!
Strokes of the finest quality flowed from his bat and one of them, a six off Rashid in the seventh over, playing against the spin was sensational.
Indeed, it was a sparkling knock that showed not just the range of Yadav’s stroke play but also his ability to stay calm under extreme pressure – a vital ingredient in international sport.
With the World T20 tournament round the corner, Yadav is the kind of presence India needs at critical No. 3 position.
Apart from Yadav, Shreyas Iyer made 37, while Rishabh Pant contributed 30 runs, helping India to an imposing 185.
In response, England chased hard with Jason Roy (40 off 27) and Ben Stokes (46 off 23).
Shardul Thakur took three wickets, two of them (Stokes and Morgan) in successive balls that tilted the balance towards India.
Mumbai Indians boy, Rahul Chahar picked up two key wickets of Dawid Malan and Bairstow – a key wicket that started the England mini-collapse.
But the pick of the bowlers was Hardik Pandya stood out as the most effective bowler, conceding just 18 runs in his four overs.
The last over was nail-biting and provided a worthy climax to a match that swung back and forth with every hour.
England needed 23 and Jofra Archer tried to carve out a great win by hitting a four and a six.
Thakur then gave away two wides to make it 10 off 3 balls.
But he made amends by dismissing Chris Jordan off the penultimate ball of the over.
India 185 for 8 (Suryakumar 57, Iyer 37, Archer 4-33) beat England 177 for 8 (Stokes 46, Roy 40, Thakur 3-42, Pandya 2-16) by eight runs
