England vs India: Joe Root reckons India pose a different set of challenges

England are currently scheduled to play a three-match ODI series against India. The first match will be played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, the same venue where the highest ever ODI score was racked. The Brits’ are the number one ranked ODI team while the Men in Blue are second. Virat Kohli and Co have the opportunity to move to the top slot in the rankings.

However, that’s only possible provided they manage to clean sweep their opponents. Meanwhile, Joe Root, the English middle-order batsmen, believes that performances against India are determinants of where the team is standing. He also reminisced India’s performance the last time they played an ODI series on English soil. MS Dhoni’s men won the series by 3-1 after the first ODI was washed out.

They present different challenges

“India have been a really strong team in this format for a long time. They won (ODI series) last time they came over here. I know it was a very different side they played against but it is a really good marker to see where we are,” Root was quoted as saying by Mid-Day.

“We have played some really strong cricket in one day format and India are right up there as one of the best one day sides in the world. They present different challenges to the ones we have recently faced but we know that if we play to our potential, keep learning and improving we will be a difficult side to play especially at home,” he added.

On the personal front, Joe Root didn’t have an auspicious time lately in limited-overs cricket. He scored a half-century at the Oval against Australia but faltered in the remaining four ODIs in the five-match series. The Yorkshire-born cricketer also floundered in the T20I series against India where he managed 0 and 9 in Manchester and Cardiff. Subsequently, he was dropped for the Bristol match.

[interaction id=”5b470f2e96df427417affa48″]

For more news and developments, stay tuned on CricTracker.com.