ENGLAND descended to a miserable 133-run defeat against India in Cardiff to concede a 1-0 Royal London Series lead.

Alastair Cook’s team paid for a patchy performance with the ball as Suresh Raina hit a brutal century in India’s 304 for six in this second match of five after Monday’s washout in Bristol.

Then England mustered only an insipid 161 all out in 38.1 overs, after a rain break between innings left a revised target of 295 in 47.

Debutant Alex Hales and Cook raised hopes in an opening stand of 54 - but once first-change Mohammad Shami struck twice in four balls, the hosts had no answer on a pitch with decent carry but in cloudy conditions which made batting far from easy throughout.

India’s efforts, after Cook put them in, appeared above par - thanks chiefly to Raina (100) but also half-centuries from Rohit Sharma (52) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (52) - and England’s batsmen duly confirmed that impression.

Cook went across his stumps and was lbw; then Ian Bell, in his new position at number three to accommodate Hales’ promotion, left one alone only to see the ball clatter into his off-stump.

Joe Root could not get started, an old foible perhaps revisited - arguably back when he might have been forward - as Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled him with a good delivery that nipped between bat and pad.

As others around Hales departed, his debut innings at this level faltered - and he had made the last 10 of his 40 in singles from 30 balls when he mis-swept Ravindra Jadeja (four for 28) to short fine-leg.

England were fast running out of feasible options to mount a challenge, all the more so when Jos Buttler poked a catch to cover off Jadeja - and Eoin Morgan could only limit embarrassment, and help to avoid any record margin of defeat, rather than threaten a telling resurgence.

Rohit had helped India recover from a sticky start of their own, and then Raina took over in a fifth-wicket stand of 144 with Dhoni.

By the time he holed out in the deep off Chris Woakes, having hit 12 fours and three sixes from 75 balls in his fourth one-day international hundred, expectations that England might heavily restrict India were shot to bits.

Woakes endured the extremes of 50-over cricket, taking two wickets in four balls in a new-ball spell of 5-1-8-2 yet eventually finishing with four for 52.

The change bowling was flaky from Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan, who was unable to hold the line required with no off-side cover behind the ring in batting powerplay and ended up responsible for 12 of England’s 16 wides.

Woakes’ two early victims, Shikhar Dhawan and then Virat Kohli for a duck, were reward for his and James Anderson’s accuracy as India stumbled to 26 for two after ten overs.

Dhawan edged an attempted drive behind, and Woakes doubled up to extend Kohli’s wretched tour when he crunched a head-high catch straight to mid-off.

India were badly in need of some top-order substance, and Rohit and Ajinkya Rahane provided it - putting on 69 between overs 10 and 20 in a low-risk stand of 91.

After Rahane went, foot planted on the crease but not behind and therefore stumped after a third-umpire consultation off James Tredwell, Rohit passed his 82-ball 50.

The opener’s innings concluded in an anti-climax it appeared India could illafford when he sliced his attempt to hit Tredwell for a straight six instead to long off.

But it turned out Rohit’s earnest contribution was merely prelude to the Raina show.

The left-hander was absent, surplus to requirements while India were descending to a 3-1 Test series defeat this summer.

Limited-overs are his forte, though, and he proved so at the first attempt - albeit with one significant moment of fortune when Tredwell might easily have had him lbw sweeping.

Hawkeye suggested a track straight towards middleand- leg. But Paul Reiffel provided the reprieve on 17, and Raina barely put another foot wrong.

He and Dhoni plundered 62 in powerplay - including one Woakes over which cost 20, with two Raina sixes, and another containing 11 deliveries because of five wides from the errant Jordan.

The last 10 overs then cost another 86 runs.

Much damage was therefore done already to home hopes, but England’s response with the bat was hugely disappointing nonetheless.

England v India
At The SWALEC Stadium

India
R G Sharma c Woakes b Tredwell .....52
S Dhawan c Buttler b Woakes ............ 11
V Kohli c Cook b Woakes ...................... 0
A M Rahane st Buttler b Tredwell....... 41
S K Raina c Anderson b Woakes .....100
M S Dhoni b Woakes ............................52
R A Jadeja not out .................................... 9
R Ashwin not out .................................... 10
Extras (b1 lb11 w16 nb1 pens 0) 29
Total 6 wkts Innings Complete
(50 overs) ........................... 304
Fall: 1-19 2-19 3-110 4-132 5-276 6-288
Did Not Bat: B Kumar, Mohammed
Shami, M M Sharma.
Bowling: Anderson 10-1-57-0. Woakes
10-1-52-4. Jordan 10-0-73-0. Stokes 7-0-
54-0. Root 3-0-14-0. Tredwell 10-1-42-2.

England
A N Cook lbw b Shami.......................... 19
A D Hales c Ashwin b Jadeja...............40
I R Bell b Shami........................................ 1
J E Root b Kumar...................................... 4
E J Morgan c Shami b Ashwin.............28
J C Buttler c Kohli b Jadeja.................... 2
B A Stokes c Rahane b Jadeja ............23
C R Woakes st Dhoni b Jadeja ...........20
C J Jordan lbw b S K Raina.................... 0
J C Tredwell c Jadeja b Ashwin........... 10
J M Anderson not out .............................. 9
Extras (lb3 w2 pens 0) ......... 5
Total (38.1 overs) ...............161
Fall: 1-54 2-56 3-63 4-81 5-85 6-119
7-126 8-128 9-143
Bowling: Kumar 7-0-30-1. M M Sharma
6-1-18-0. Shami 6-0-32-2. Ashwin 9.1-0-
38-2. Jadeja 7-0-28-4. S K Raina 3-0-12-1

India beat England by 133 runs (D/L Method)
DH1 Horner Cup quarter-final
Mainsforth 59-7 (G Jathar 5-25),
Willington 62-1 (S Alderson 35no).
DH1 Tom Burn Cup semi-final
Philadelphia 105 (S Hauxwell 53, K
Bellerby 5-45, I Conn 5-57), Burnmoor
109-6 (P Craig 42, O Lancaster 33, S
Robinson 4-47).