'Winning in India not impossible'

 India has hardly been a happy hunting ground for England in ODIs. They’ve lost the last four bilateral series against India here and in those 22 matches, they’ve managed to win just three games. They are also coming after a 4-0 battering in the Test series but despite the odds stacked against them, captain Eoin Morgan exuded confidence.

“The challenge of winning in India is huge, it’s one that’s not impossible, it’s happened recently,” said Morgan on Saturday. “South Africa turned India over, New Zealand pushed them close. It’s nice to come to a country, where there is a huge hype and expectation on the series, not necessarily on us. But even if it was on us, the emphasis has always been internally as a side, and I’m trying to get them all set. One of the biggest challenges here is adapting to conditions.”

Ever since bowing out of the 2015 ODI World Cup in the group stage itself, England have rediscovered themselves. Possessing plenty of attack-minded batsmen, they’ve been impressive last year, picking up series wins over Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Morgan felt batsmen expressing themselves without any inhibitions has been the key in the turnaround.

“I wouldn’t say fearless, I would just like to think we like to play in our own way. The group of players that we have are very outgoing, very expansive and very explosive, and do what they say they’re going to do. They can stick to their natural game which is quite an aggressive game. Trying to be somebody else or trying to be a different team, doesn’t work for us. We try to be ourselves and be comfortable within our skins, and I think that has worked,” said Morgan.

The English skipper also said his men will draw plenty of confidence from the World T20 held in India last year where they surprised many with their march to the final.