India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni stood alone as the tourists suffered yet another batting collapse to hand England the advantage on the first day of the fifth and final Test at The Oval.

At Friday’s close, England were 62 without loss in reply to India’s meagre 148 all out, a deficit of 86 runs.

England captain Alastair Cook was 24 not out and Australia-born Sam Robson, driving well after a run of low scores, 33 not out as the hosts looked to extend their 2-1 series lead.

Earlier, Dhoni made 82 – more than 55 per cent of India’s runs – in an innings where only Murali Vijay (18) and Ravichandran Ashwin (13) also got into double figures.

Seam-bowling all-rounders Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan took three wickets apiece after James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who had two each, quickly justified Cook’s decision to field first in overcast conditions on a green-tinged pitch.

India, as in their innings and 54-run defeat inside three days in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, lost five wickets before lunch.

Their top order again lacked the technique or the application to cope with deliveries that swung and seamed off the pitch.

And but for Ian Bell dropping last man Ishant Sharma in the slips, India would have been 95 all out.

Instead the recalled paceman, who made seven not out, lingered for more than an hour in helping Dhoni add 58 for the last wicket – easily the best stand of the innings.

Anderson, who started this match seven wickets shy of Ian Botham’s England record of 383 Test wickets, had opener Gautam Gambhir, trying to withdraw his bat, caught behind for a golden duck off his fourth ball.

Broad, playing with a broken nose from his batting in Manchester, then dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara (four) when the ball deflected onto his stumps via pad and arm.

Virat Kohli’s miserable series continued when, playing no stroke, he was lbw to first change Chris Jordan for six and a series average of 12.66.

Jordan then caught and bowled Ajinkya Rahane for the first duck of his Test career.

Vijay survived for more than 90 minutes but he fell when edging Woakes to Joe Root at fourth slip to have India 5-36 inside 19 overs, an even worse collapse than they suffered on the first day at Old Trafford.

At lunch, they were 5-43 with Dhoni six not out.

That became 6-44 when recalled all-rounder Stuart Binny edged a full length Anderson delivery that swung late to Cook at first slip.