England Couldn't Be In Better Place To Challenge India: Joe Root

After guiding England to a thumping 2-0 win over Sri Lanka, England captain Joe Root said his team couldn’t be in a better place to challenge India in the upcoming series. England will visit India for a full-fledged series, starting with the Test series next month. India will welcome England for four Tests, five T20Is and three ODIs.

The win over Sri Lanka wrapped up a fifth successive Test match win away from home for England and now they head to India for arguably their toughest challenge in recent years. India have not lost a Test series at home since 2012. During this period, they have lost just one Test. Incidentally, their last series defeat at home had come against England.

But the last time England toured India in 2016, they were thoroughly outplayed. The Virat Kohli-led side had thrashed the visitors by 4-0 in the five-match series. But Joe Root believes England are in a better position this time around. Joe Root sounded excited over the way his teammates handled the pressure in Sri Lanka.

“We’ve got a huge amount of confidence coming out of these games. We’ve had to manage different situations and all of that will stand us in good stead,” Joe Root told a virtual news conference after winning the second Test against Sri Lanka.

“We’ve got to look at this as a platform, a starting position and not be happy with what we have achieved. We’ve got four very important games against arguably the best team in the world in their own conditions (India). We’re going to have to play right at the top of our game to win out there but we couldn’t be in a better place to challenge them. That really excites me,” he added.

On Monday, England were reeling on 89 for 4 at one stage while chasing 164. But Dominic Sibley and Jos Buttler went on to share an unbeaten stand of 75 runs to take their team home. Joe Root is in sensational form too. The England skipper scored a double century in the first Test before missing another in the second by just 14 runs.

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