By Mitch Phillips LONDON (Reuters) -England gained the upper hand after a rain-hit first day of the final test against India at The Oval on Thursday as the tourists, needing victory to square the series,

Live coverage of this summer Test series is exclusive to Sky Sports in the UK, with all games shown live on its Sky Sports cricket channel. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the tournament via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to set up a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the action.

Rain has been a persistent factor, interrupting play multiple times and making batting conditions even more difficult. The stop-start nature of the game is testing both sides’ rhythm, with the pitch continuing to offer assistance to seamers under overcast skies.