After Graham Gooch, who was one of the finest exponents of sweep shot against Asian spinners, current skipper Root -- with scores of 228 and 186 in Sri Lanka -- has shown his mastery on low and slow tracks.

Root had scored a bulk of his runs in Sri Lanka with the sweep shot on his way to 426 runs in two Tests that helped England beat the hosts 2-0 in the Test series.

England captain Joe Root has said that many teams will take "huge confidence" from India's win in Australia, as they aim to win away from home.

Joe Root made his Test debut against India in 2012, and in an interview with ECB, described the 'surreal' moment.

Root will be appearing in his 100 Test when he leads England in the series-opening match against India from Friday.

The recent win does make India the outright favourites, but England too are heading into the contest on the back of a 2-0 cleansweep in Sri Lanka with their skipper Joe Root in destructive form.

Root, who made his debut against India in Nagpur in 2012, will play his 100th game against same opposition at the Chepauk from February 5.

Root, whose next assignment is the four-Test series India starting February 5, also became the fourth-highest run-getter in Test cricket for England and the first ever captain to hit two double-hundreds.

Ahead of the series starting February 5 in Chennai, Root has described India as "the best team of the world in their own conditions".

Root was the second-highest run-getter behind Virat Kohli the last time England toured India, in 2016-17. His 491 runs in five Tests at 49.1 was behind Kohli's 655.

With the 2-0 win, England are now the most successful visiting team in Sri Lanka and have equalled India's tally for most matches won by a visiting team in Sri Lanka. 

After notching up a double century in the series opener, Root continued his brilliant run by hitting 186 in the second Test to lift his side from a spot of bother.

The right-handed batsman has amassed 8,238 Test runs in 180 innings he has played so far and is fourth on the list of leading run-getters for England

Root, who had posted his 19th career test hundred before lunch, also passed Kevin Pietersen’s tally of 8,181 test runs to become England’s fifth highest run getter in the five-day format.

Former England captain Alastair Cook is the all-time highest run-getter for England.

The teams are expected to reach Chennai by January 27 and undergo testing before entering the bio-bubble.

An injury-hit India, who were also missing some star players like skipper Virat Kohli, registered a three-wicket win in the series-deciding fourth Test against Australia.

Resuming on 38/3 on Day Five, wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow and debutant Danial Lawrence carried England to their 76-run target inside 35 minutes on the final morning of the Test match.

Root’s 228 had provided England a strong total of 421 and a meaningful first innings lead of 286, but Thirimanne stood firm for two sessions to remain unbeaten on 76 off 189 balls and carried Sri Lanka to 156-2 at stumps.

Root ended his long wait for a hundred with the addition of an 18th Test century to his name and later converted it to a well-composed 228 off 321 balls laced with 18 fours and a six in England's first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle.