Strauss Bullish Ahead Of India Series

Southampton, Jun 21 :  England captain Andrew Strauss believes five straight series win has his team in ideal shape to take on India in their four-test series beginning next month.

England was forced to settle for a draw in the third and final test against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl, but still emerged from a rain-disrupted series with a 1-0 victory.

With momentum firmly behind the team and both its batting and bowling departments in good nick, Strauss said there was no reason to fear India—the world's top-ranked side.

“We're a confident team, and we're used to winning and putting opposition teams under pressure, which we did against Sri Lanka,” Strauss said. “We're looking forward to the challenge of taking on India, the No. 1 side in the world, and hope we can be a difficult proposition for them.
“We're in good shape. A lot of the batsmen got a lot of runs in this series (against Sri Lanka) and are in good form; our bowling attack in this game was exceptional and was very good as well at times at Cardiff.”

Strauss felt the series against India will hinge on which side grabs the initiative in those “important sessions and moments.”
“We know India are a very confident side in their own right and are used to winning themselves,” Strauss said. “But we've got our home conditions and we back ourselves to beat anyone in them. It's going to be a tough series.”

Kumar Sangakkara's resolute 119 helped deny England a shot at victory in Southampton, with Sri Lanka losing just two wickets on the final day before play was abandoned with a session to spare because of heavy rain.

While the hosts were able to squeeze in a dramatic victory between the rain breaks in the first test in Cardiff, the inclement weather led to draws at Lord's and then at the Rose Bowl.

“We would have loved to have won the series in an emphatic manner; if we'd had longer in this game we would have been able to do that,” Strauss said.

“It's been a frustrating series full stop, in terms of the number of stops for rain