(Reuters) – Alastair Cook saw India cave in without resistance when the teams last met but the England captain yesterday said beating Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side in a limited overs series on their patch will be an altogether different proposition.
India reached England in July as the top test team and the 50-over world champions but Cook and his team mates made it a ridiculously lopsided affair over the next couple of months.
The hosts blanked India 4-0 to strip them of their top-ranked status and won the lone Twenty20 and one-day series as well to deny them a single victory against England on the tour.
Current form and India’s injury woes suggest England will have the upper hand again in the limited overs series starting on Oct. 14 but Cook sounded cautious.
“I don’t read too much into the favourite’s tag. It is going to be a very different challenge,” he told reporters in Hyderabad, which hosts the first of the five one-day internationals to be followed by a Twenty20 match on Oct. 29.
“I don’t see any relation between what happened in England and what is going to happen here. India are historically strong at home,” Cook said.
India’s lineup, however, suggests the 50-over world champions might struggle again in the limited overs series.
Front line players Sachin Tendulkar (toe), Virender Sehwag (shoulder), Zaheer Khan (ankle), Yuvraj Singh (finger), Rohit Sharma (finger), Munaf Patel (ankle) and Ishant Sharma (ankle) are recovering from injuries and have been rested.
India will be short of experience in their absence but Cook warned against complacency.
“They might be inexperienced in international games but they are experienced in local conditions which is an important thing. Obviously, it is going to be a tough challenge,” he said.
