Team India will take heart from Oval record

London: Numbers really may not mean much as India look to avoid a series whitewash against England as the fourth Test starts at The Oval on Thursday, but India's record at the venue could give the team some much-needed solace and inspiration.

India have played 10 matches at The Oval, won one, lost two and drawn seven games, including the last five Tests. For a team that has been knocked off the perch and is now desperate to hold on to the second place in the ICC Test rankings, this could just be the kind of numbers that can propel the team to fight back and restore pride.

India's highest total ever in England has come at this ground. The team scored 664 runs in the first innings of the Test in 2007. And the most prolific batsman for India at this ground is Rahul Dravid, who is still very much part of the setup and the only Indian batsman to be in form. In two Tests that Dravid has played here, he has scored 284 runs at an average of 94.67.

Even though historical data has no bearing on a team's current performance, Team India will know that England last beat them at this venue in 1959 and that India have in the last three Tests here scored in excess of 500 runs in an innings. That number has looked like a magical number right through the series and India will hope that the venue brings good luck to their batting.

Here's also a look at some of the approaching milestones at The Oval:

- MS Dhoni needs three dismissals to surpass Syed Kirmani's Indian record of most (198) dismissals as a wicketkeeper.

- Dravid and Tendulkar need to add 18 runs together to establish a new world record in partnership. They will surpass Greenidge and Haynes in terms of runs added as a partnership. The West Indian pair had aggregated 6,482 runs at an average of 47.31.

- One more century and Tendulkar will complete his 100 centuries in international cricket.

- Tendulkar needs 141 runs to complete 15,000 runs in Test cricket.

- If Alastair Cook scores a century, he will become the fastest to get to 20 centuries in Test cricket.