LONDON, Sept 2: England cricket captain Michael Vaughan is expecting an Indian backlash in the second one-day game at The Oval on Friday. "They have an outstanding batting line-up and ability to respond. They will be hurt and when a team is hurt they come back stronger."

England took a 1-0 lead in best of three series with a seven-wicket win after bowling out the tourists for just 170 at Trent Bridge on Thursday. They were given perfect start by new boy Alex Wharf, who claimed a wicket in each of his first three overs, and Steve Harmison polished off Indian tail with a hat-trick.

Vaughan said Wharf had "obviously improved" since the two played together for Yorkshire county in 1997. "He has always been strong, has good repetitive action and hits pitch hard. People who get pace off the wicket cause good batsmen problems and it was pleasing for us that he got among their high-class batting line-up.

"In fact, we have been impressed with his all-round package and the fact he has three aspects (bowling, batting and fielding) is what we really like about him." Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly admitted his side faced a challenge to raise their game after a series of recent disappointments. -Agencies