England's desire to maintain their unbeaten home Test series record was undermined by a series of missed chances as India dominated the opening day at the Oval.

Needing victory to preserve an unbeaten record stretching back 11 previous series to 2001, England knew they could not afford another bad start if they were to compete in the final npower Test.

But just as they did in the previous Test at Trent Bridge - when they were dismissed for 198 on the opening day and ended up slumping to a seven wicket defeat - England failed to assert themselves.

Unlike Nottingham, when they failed to adapt to the swing-friendly conditions, this time they struggled to utilise the new ball as they could have done and then missed two key catches to help India reach a commanding 316 for four by the close.

Given a solid start by a 62-run opening stand, with England bowling wide enough to allow openers Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer to settle in, India steadily built on that start to dominate the opening day.

Expecting a bouncy pitch, England got carried away and dug the ball in short far too often, allowing Jaffer to upper cut James Anderson for six inside the first half hour of the day.

It took the morning drinks break to finally end their opening stand with Jaffer falling into a trap to the fourth ball after the break by upper cutting Anderson straight to third man.

England were forced to wait another 34 overs and watch Karthik and captain Rahul Dravid forge a 127-run stand by the time they were next able to celebrate a success after missing the first of two costly dropped catches.

Karthik had progressed to 58 when he drilled left-arm spinner Monty Panesar low towards Andrew Strauss at short extra cover and despite a superb diving effort, it was a chance missed.

England's frustration was apparent on a wicket which looked ideal for batting and was only partly eased by Anderson removing Dravid with a swinging yorker, but only after he had scored his first half-century of the series.

That breakthrough was quickly followed by another with umpire Ian Howell upholding an appeal from left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom against Karthik for an edge behind just nine runs short of his century when television replays suggested he had missed the ball.

Encouraged by Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal in the second innings at Trent Bridge to a short delivery bowled into the body, England embarked on a barrage of identical balls to the world's most celebrated batsman.

Tendulkar was hit on several occasions but was happy to bide his time while he built a patient 77-run stand with Sourav Ganguly, which took India to within 10 overs of the close.

That partnership was helped by a major loss of concentration by wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who missed a regulation catch when Tendulkar was on just 20 and edged at a wider delivery from Sidebottom.

England's whole team looked deflated at Prior's error after he had dived with both hands to his right and allowed Tendulkar, the highest run-scorer in Test cricket still playing, another chance.

Having played 139 previous Test matches, Tendulkar knew what a pivotal moment that could be in the battle for supremacy in such a crucial Test and set himself to occupy the crease and set a platform for a big total today.

Tendulkar was happy to play within himself and scored only five boundaries during his innings spanning over three hours.

Former captain Ganguly had matched Tendulkar for his studied approach and, with the new ball due shortly before the close, knew how crucial it was to remain at the crease.

Running out of options and his main bowlers being saved for the new ball, England captain Michael Vaughan threw the ball to Paul Collingwood's gentle swing to use up overs and try something different.

Collingwood did the trick by earning an lbw decision against Ganguly with Howell lifting his finger despite a significant inside edge onto his pads.

It opened up another major opportunity for England as the close approached as they chased another breakthrough with the new ball and reclaim the momentum going into the second day.

But for the second time in the day, England were unable to use the new ball profitably with both Tendulkar and VVS Laxman able to reach the close unscathed and ready to capitalise on the errors by building a major first innings total.