Test series has given underdogs England a T20 lift, says Morgan
ENGLAND stand-in Twenty20 captain Eoin Morgan believes the Test side’s landmark victory in India this week can give his men extra impetus when they resume hostilities today in Pune.
Alastair Cook’s team ended a 27-year wait for a series win in India by clinching a 2-1 victory in Nagpur on Monday, and Morgan, deputising for the injured Stuart Broad, insists it has lifted the tourists.
“Absolutely, as we’ve seen in the past when the Test side has done well, it’s had a knock-on effect with the other two teams,” he said. “Certainly we’ll be looking to win these two games and take confidence and momentum from the Test side and keep the winning habit up.”
To inflict further misery on an Indian team that, unlike England, has the same core as the Test side, Morgan’s men will have to improve on their last outing, a record defeat to the same opponents at the World Twenty20.
“We’re going in as underdogs, which is a great label to have with such a young side,” Morgan added. “In this cauldron that is India it’s tough conditions, but it would be great to win these two games.”
Regular England T20 stars Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann and Steven Finn have been rested following their Test heroics, while Broad is recuperating from a heel injury.