Mumbai: England have to dig deep to challenge India in their own backyard says head coach Trevor Bayliss but he also reposed confidence in his side's ability to counter the hosts.
England are coming into the five-Test series after being toppled by minnows Bangladesh inside three days.
"It's going to be difficult, that's for sure. We're going to have to play some very good cricket, but we've got that in us," Bayliss was quoted as saying by the official England and Wales Cricket Board website.
"We've shown in previous series; we've lost to Australia and South Africa and been able to come back and win. We've got to dig deep to play a very good team playing in their home conditions," Bayliss said, according to www.ecb.co.uk.
England lost the second Test to Bangladesh in Dhaka by losing 10 wickets for just 64 runs, chasing 273.
The visitors, who are to play their first five-Test rubber against the world's top ranked Test team in more than three decades, had a full net session on Friday at the Brabourne Stadium - two days after reaching the city from Bangladesh.
The tourists, led by Alastair Cook who was the leader when England visited India for a come-from-behind 2-1 Test series win four years ago, will adopt horses for courses strategy while picking the team for the series opener at Rajkot, said Bayliss.
"Cook and I will sit down in the next few days and discuss that. Some have obviously cemented a spot and others there's still a bit of a question mark over. We've got two or three options in the batting but also in the bowling as well so there will have to be some soul searching over the next few days," said the England coach.
"It could come down to who we're playing, what sort of wicket we're playing on and the conditions will have to be taken into consideration."
