We are underdogs, says captain Alastair Cook

The last time England toured India, they returned with 2-1 victory in the four-match Test series despite losing the first Test at Ahmedabad. India haven’t lost a series since at home, trouncing Australia, the West Indies, South Africa and are fresh from a 3-0 blanking of New Zealand.

India are currently no. 1 in the Test rankings and start favourites in the series against a side humiliated by a first-ever loss to Bangladesh in Dhaka.

England captain Alastair Cook conceded that they would be underdogs in the series but added that his men had ‘stood up in big series’.

“It’s a big challenge. Any time you play the no. 1 or the no. 2 ranked team in their backyard, who are very comfortable in their conditions; it’s a huge task. It’s a challenge to these guys who have not played a huge amount of cricket in the sub-continent as a group,” he said.

“We have played really good cricket in big series for the last two years. Last year we went to South Africa and won when they were no. 1. These are different conditions, but being underdogs takes a lot of pressure off us,” added the 31-year-old Lancashire player.

Cook started his Test career in Nagpur with hundred and has a good record on Indian soil like many left handed batsmen of the past. He scored three big hundreds during the last tour when he was just a two-Test old captain.

This time he has loads of leadership experience and a good all-round team also but hasn’t the experience of Kevin Pietersen in the middle order who attacked the Indian spinners during the last tour especially in the Mumbai Test. The visitors also lack a quality spinner like Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar who masterminded the turnaround last time around.

“It’s a very different bowling attack. Swanney and Monty, four years ago, were at the peak of their game and Monty did an outstanding job of holding in the three Tests he played. Unfortunately we don’t have that experience, but we have got guys who were successful against India in the past. We have more options in this squad and the balance of the side allows us to have six bowlers,” said Cook.

England have off-spinners Moeen Ali and Gareth Batty, left arm spinner Zafar Ansari and leg spinner Adil Rashid in the squad. All are inexperienced, and though Ali performed well in England against India he will need to adjust quickly to conditions here. Spin will be the biggest challenge for the visiting batsman to counter and they have practiced a lot here for two days.