India are in for a whitewash against England unless the sight of Lord's and their past stirring deeds at the hallowed ground in London are to inspire them in the third and final match of the NatWest Challenge on Sunday.
India are 0-2 down in the series and there is nothing about their batting, bowling or fielding to suggest they have it in them to put it across the hosts who are on a real roll.
Although the Indians have lost the series, Sourav Ganguly and his men will be determined to check the downward slide and win the last match to boost their confidence-level ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy beginning next week.
The visitors are running out of option in terms of batting as there are only seven left in the party in view of Sachin Tendulkar's elbow injury.
Captain Ganguly highlights the issue when he says despite Virender Sehwag's poor form, he might be left with no alternative but to start with the Delhi opener.
"Sehwag has not played well at the top of the order. Obviously Tendulkar is injured so we don't have another guy who has played as an opener in one-day cricket," says Ganguly.
Ganguly does not want to make changes just for the sake of changing and he makes a mention of Dinesh Kaarthik to press his case.
"I don't think wicketkeeping is an area where we need to worry. Rahul Dravid kept quite well on Friday. It is important to identify the problem areas rather than make a change just for the sake of it."
Ganguly also does not think the team has suffered because of lack of practice since they have mostly played one-day internationals in the last two months.
"It is not the case of lack of practice, it is just a case we are not playing well. You can have a lot of changes in the batting order but the guys still have to go out there and score runs."
Before Ganguly could tackle his team's batting issue, he is also saddled with his medium-pacers who are being thrashed around the park.
Laxmipathy Balaji and Ajit Agarkar had a horrible time in the field and Ashish Nehra and Irfan Pathan are proving only marginally better.
"We struggled with our bowling at the Oval. The seam aspect in the first 15 overs as well in the final 15 overs is not good," the Indian captain said.
England, on the other hand, could not have had a better run in one-day cricket. Skipper Michael Vaughan was on cloud nine after winning the second one-day international even though they were asked to bat first by India.
"It is not easy to bat first in these conditions with the white ball and the dampness on the pitch.
"We have not won many games batting first, so it is a real psychological boost," Vaughan said.
Andrew Flintoff looks the star performer for England but Vaughan feels it is not right to say it has been only a 'Freddie Show' and others have been mere props in the team.
"It is more than the 'Freddie Show'. We got off to a good start and then our bowlers bowled so well as a unit."
Vaughan's words are proved by the performance on the field as veteran fast bowler Darren Gough worked up real pace and movement and was richly rewarded with four wickets in his 10 overs.
As things stand today, England are a vastly superior side and India appear condemned for another drubbing at the home of cricket.
If India lose 0-3 to England, it will be a real blow to the team which made it to the finals of the 2003 World Cup. England had not even made it to the Super Six Stage in South Africa.
Much has changed since then and that is the nature of international cricket. A season is enough to let a team turn around the corner.
Pakistan were on a real low after losing to India at home. Now they appear a side which could give even Australia a run for their money. Ganguly must be hoping something similar happens to them in the next few weeks, if not on Sunday.
Teams:
India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, V V S Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Rohan Gavaskar, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Laxmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar.
England: Michael Vaughan (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Strauss, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones, Anthony McGrath, Gareth Batty, Andrew Flintoff, Darren Gough, James Anderson, Steve Harmison, Alex Wharf and Ashley Giles.
