India's Shreyas Iyer on Thursday said star batsman Virat Kohli's late injury call cut short his movie night before he turned hero in the team's opening ODI win over England.

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Iyer replaced Kohli in India's XI at the start of the three-match series in Nagpur and smashed 59 off 36 deliveries to help pull off a 249-run chase with four wickets and 11.2 overs to spare.

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"It's been outstanding," Iyer told broadcasters. "I wasn't supposed to play the first game as we all know. Virat unfortunately got injured and I got the opportunity. But I kept myself prepared."

He added: "So, funny story. I was watching a movie last night. I thought that I could extend my night. Then I got a call from the skipper saying that you may play because Virat has got a sore knee. And then I hurried back to my room, went off to sleep straight away."

Iyer walked into bat with skipper Rohit Sharma out for two and India 19-2 when the IPL-winning captain smashed the opposition bowlers to all parts of the ground.

He put on 94 runs with Shubman Gill, who made 87.

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The batsman's blitz was studded with nine fours and two sixes as he set-up India's 1-0 lead in the three-match series. 
 

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