They did it in the final Test of the 2005 Ashes series when they held out bravely against Australia to win the coveted trophy and now the English fans are hoping they can repeat that magical showing again, against the high-flying Indians.

Trailing 0-1 in the series England [Images] captain Michael Vaughan [Images] believes his side can once again rise to the occasion and level the three-match contest with a great performance.

"It's a great challenge for the team. We're 1-0 down against a decent India side, and this ground has produced some good cricket over the years. Of the last 11 games, nine have produced results, the only two draws have been weather affected.

"If the weather's good and we play good cricket, the result will take its natural course. We have to get to a level... we've played some decent cricket in this series so far, (but) one area that has not been good is a big first innings score. That's the challenge this week," he said at the Oval in London [Images] on Thursday.

England received a timely boost when Kevin Pietersen [Images] was ruled fit for the match on Friday, after some doubts as he went down with virus.

"He's alright. He had a net but didn't take part in the run-around fielding drill, but he'll be fine to go into tomorrow's game. It was just a virus," said Vaughan. "It was slightly worrying yesterday (on Tuesday) but the doctor said, 'So long as he got his tablets down he'd be okay.' Obviously it's better for seeing him here having a bat, and a big relief for the team because he's such a big player."

Pietersen would once again do well to reproduce another blazing knock, like the 158 in that final Ashes match to help England draw the match and clinch the trophy.

The right-hander has been in top form in the series, having scored 203 runs at an average of 50.75, included the 134 in the first Test at Lord's.

He failed in the two innings at Trent Bridge as England surrendered tamely. But here at the Oval he would be hoping to produce some of his magic as England hope to keep their home record intact, which has not been breached since 2001.

"It's 2001 since the last time we lost a home series. That's the challenge for the week, and it's a good game to play. How are we going to react to being 1-0 down in the series and trying to get back to 1-1. It's going to be a tough challenge, but these games are great because you see which players will stand up to the pressure. There'll be big games in the future and this is another one. You learn a lot about your team in a week like this," Vaughan said.

The England captain believes the bouncy wicket will help the stroke makers, and getting a big score in the first innings will prove to be vital.

"It does have a tendency to swing here as well. Conditions will determine that, but if it doesn't swing, the ball generally carries, so snicks will carry to the slips. The team that plays the best cricket over five days generally wins. If we can put teams under pressure with runs on the board, we've got enough in our attack to force a result," he said.

He also seemed quite satisfied with his form after his century in the last game, even though England lost the game.

"I feel I've played well, my feet are going quite nicely, I feel in control at the crease, but I also know you start on 0 and have to do the hard work all over again. We're going to need a good score in the first innings, and one or two of the batsmen will have to hold their hands up. Maybe that'll be me again this week. I feel in good touch," said the England captain.

Vaughan also gave hints that his team would be better behaved than in Trent Bridge, where they faced a lot of criticism for incidents like throwing jelly beans at the batsmen and constant chirping.

"Two games have been played really, really well. What we don't want to see is the guys going close to the line. There are some things that must be kept on the field. I don't want to see swearing on the pitch, but I want to play hard. The odd little bit of gamesmanship and chirp, that can sometimes be good. Swearing sometimes is a natural reaction, as long as you're not swearing at a batsman or back at a bowler," he said.

He also said they never underrated the Indian attack and added they would be looking to get their top batsmen out cheaply.

"Zaheer Khan [Images] has had some good experience of playing here. He did very well for Worcestershire last year, so we always knew he would be a big threat. We have not seen much of RP Singh, but when the ball is swinging, left-arm seamers are always a big threat.

"Not overly worried, but it would be nice to get him [Rahul Dravid [Images]] cheaply, like all their top players. We're going to have to bowl well at him this week," he added.

The 32-year-old paid rich tributes to bowlers from both the teams, saying such high quality of swing bowling has not been seen in the sport for a long time.

"Credit to bowlers of both sides... they bowl in the right areas and they've swung it, which is something that we haven't seen in international cricket for a long time. That's why it's been fascinating to play in the two games. The teams had to adapt games differently to the conditions. If it swings again this week it could be another 300 pitch, let's see how we play the conditions this week," he said.

England last lost a home series in 2001 when they were beaten by an all-conquering Australian team and that time too their bowling let them down. From a neutral point of view, it seems they are heading for their first series in six years unless the bowlers can improve on their showing from the second Test.