NICK HOWSON: After England secured a 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka playing largely on the back-foot, the captain is optimistic his side are ready to take on Virat Kohli's men
Sri Lanka v England: 2nd Test scorecard
PLAYER RATINGS: Lasith Embuldeniya, James Anderson and Joe Root show their class
After spending much of the Test series win over Sri Lanka on the back-foot only to emerge with a 2-0 whitewash, England captain Joe Root is confident his side have the belief to upset India over the coming months.
The tourists lost the toss in both matches, forcing them to bat last in perilous sub-continental conditions, and were without as many as four key players.
Therefore, the seven and six-wicket wins at Galle is a tribute to their new-found ability to stay cool and trust their skills away from the green grass of home.
In the second Test, they trailed by 37 after both sides had batted twice. It was the turn of Jack Leach and Dom Bess with the ball, and then Dom Sibley and Jos Buttler in the chase to set-up a remarkable victory with a day to spare.
With several star names to return, there is a reason for optimism ahead of facing Virat Kohli's formidable outfit, who themselves are fresh from a series success in Australia. But Root has seen evidence to suggest his side can go to India and mirror the success of Sir Alastair Cook's side in 2012.
"What we have got is a huge amount of confidence coming out of these two games," said Root, who has now led England to four straight series wins, five successive away Test wins for the first time since World War One and his 25th as skipper. Only Michael Vaughan (26) has more.
Jack Leach combined to deadly effect with Dom Bess as Sri Lanka were skittled for 126 in their second innings
"We've had to manage different situations. All of that will stand us in really good stead. We were very smart about what we take into the games and hopefully, we can manage that well and get off to a good start.
"That's exactly what we wanted and the challenge now is to replicate it again as a team.
"We've got to look at this as a platform, a starting position and not be happy with what we have achieved.
"We've got four very important games against arguably the best team in the world in their own conditions.
"We're going to have to play right at the top of our game to win out there but we couldn't be in a better place to challenge them. That really excites me."
Though the line-up for the opening Test in Chennai (February 5-9) will be vastly different - Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Rory Burns are available again, Ollie Pope is pushed for full fitness while Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood are heading home - character is coursing through this group.
That temperament was improved by the performances of three players who had struggled for form in Sri Lanka. Leach and Bess picked up four wickets apiece as the home side were bowled out for 126 in their second innings before Sibley put a run of three straight single-figure scores behind him with a third Test fifty to drag England over the line.
Dom Sibley and Jos Buttler guided England home with a 75-run partnership for the fifth wicket
"The impressive thing from this week is for a large proportion of it we were behind the game and chasing," added Root, who was named man of the match and the series for his 426 runs across the two Tests.
"For the first innings we did well to stick in as long as we did and make it difficult for them to get away from us was very impressive.
"For the seamers to be as effective as they were on that wicket shows the improvement of taking wickets abroad, something we've struggled with in the past.
"For our spinners to go and win us the game and restrict them to a total we could chase down with very little cricket behind them was a brilliant effort.
"For our batters to stay as calm and poised as they did was really impressive.
"That is one of the hardest things to manage in this part of the world."
Images courtesy of Sri Lanka Cricket
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