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India look to end 21-year drought at The Oval

Sitting pretty on their 1-0 lead after the victory at Trent Bridge, India will be looking to end a 21-year-long drought of a series triumph in England as they square up against the hosts in the third and final Test at The Oval in London on Thursday.

Even as the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, captain Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble will be looking for their crowning glory moment in England -- being a part of a victorious Indian team -- in the evening of their respective careers, they need to take care of a jinx that has been plaguing the side in recent years.

Too often in the past, India has taken a lead in the series only to allow the opposition to turn the tables on them.

If a dream win in Adelaide against Australia in 2003 was followed by a soul-shattering defeat in Melbourne in the very next Test, India's first-ever Test win in Pakistan in 2004 at Multan was followed by a nerve-wrecking defeat at Lahore.

More recently, India squandered a huge opportunity in South Africa early this year when, when after beating the hosts at Johannesburg in the first Test, they promptly lost the next one at Durban before losing the series in Cape Town.

"We have to be consistent. We have to back our good performances by some more good performances. We will celebrate this win, but at the same time, we will keep our mind focused on the final Test and on what we need to do there", Dravid said.

"We will be taking a lot of confidence from the Trent Bridge Test and will try our best to win the series. We know England will come back hard at us and we expect a tough game," Dravid said.

Then again, if the Indians are looking to set the record straight and register their first series victory in 16 years, England too have a proud home record to protect in what will be a do-or-die Test for the hosts.

Source-Cricketzone.com