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England white washed an injury hit India 4-0 in Tests and beat them 3-0 in a five match ODI series when Dhoni and his men went to England in July earlier. But Cook said the dominance in that series counts for little in the five match series starting October 14 here.
"I don`t read too much into the favourites tag. It is going to be a very different challenge, I don`t see any relation between what happened in England and what is going to happen here. India is historically strong at home," he told reporters here. Once again India wear a depleted look with the missing list including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel and Ishant Sharma due to injuries sustained during the tour of England.
Asked if the lack of experience of bowlers in the Indian team would work to England`s advantage, Cook stressed that despite lack of international exposure, they would still be quite a force because of their grasp over local conditions. "They might be inexperienced in international games, but they are experienced in local conditions which is an important thing. Obviously it is going to be a tough challenge," he added.
"We managed to cope with the weather conditions where we played, I don`t think that is a hindrance to us," he said. On how much a factor dew would play during the series, he said, "It is going to be same for both sides. I am not too sure exactly how much dew will be there at each venue. We will have to cross the bridge when we get there."
