Eoin Morgan drew hope from England’s 2-1 victory in a home bilateral ODI series against India last year, while stepping into Sunday’s big game against Virat Kohli’s men. In a press conference here on Saturday, the host skipper expressed optimism over the fitness of Jason Roy and Jofra Archer, said that Jonny Bairstow is entitled to his views and countered insensitive queries on whether he is contemplating a resignation. Excerpts .
World Cup hopes:
We are extremely lucky to be playing in a home World Cup. It presents a huge opportunity. If we win two more group games, then we are through to the semifinals, and if we win that, we get through to a World Cup final. There's still a lot on the line. Mathematically, there’s still a chance if we win one out of the two games, but certainly we want to win Sunday’s game.
The Indian flavour:
I sort of recall the Champions Trophy final that we played India here and it was a complete away game. We have a number of fans but the noise that the Indian fans make with their horns and various different things makes it that much more louder. So, yeah, Sunday’s match will feel like an away game.
Batting pitch preferred:
We want to play on the best possible wicket, preferably a batting wicket. We bat deep and tend to thrive in high scoring games. So it’s an area that we would be more confident playing.
Historical clues:
The last time we played India, we beat them in a series here. The team that’s been together has had success against India and because we have beat them before, we have belief.
