London, Oct 5 (IANS): Ian Bell says India will be the favourites in the forthcoming five One-day Internationals and that the hosts' humbling during the disastrous England tour will amount to nothing.

India were blanked 4-0 in Test series and then went down 3-0 in the ODIs, which has raised doubts over their World Cup status.

Bell said England are expecting a tough challenge from India on their home soil. The ODI series begins Oct 14.

"It's going to be a big challenge for us, no doubt," the batsman told Sky Sports News.

"We've played some good cricket. We've made some strides forward with the way we were playing against India in the summer, but it's a massive challenge now to come and do that in India.

"I think India would still be favourites in their own conditions, but we're here to improve and get better. We're looking forward to that challenge," he said.

England's tour features five one-day matches followed by a solitary Twenty20 match, with the action getting underway Saturday with the first of two warm-up fixtures.

The last time the two sides met in India was in Bangalore during the World Cup which ended in a dramatic tie.

"We're excited," Bell said. "The World Cup game we had was a great tie, so it's a great way to start the series and we're looking forward to competing really well out here."