The pendulum swung back and forth on a captivating Day Two in Mohali as England fought back at India in an electrifying final session.
Two stand-out pieces of fielding - a superb catch from Chris Woakes and a remarkable run out from Jos Buttler - helped the tourists take three wickets for 8 runs as India slumped from 148-2 to 156-5.
Ben Stokes then took the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli, for 62, but Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja tipped the balance back in India's favour with a partnership of 67 to leave the hosts 12 behind England and six wickets down.
England added just 15 to their overnight total, 13 of those from Jimmy Anderson. He was called upon seven balls into the day as Mohammed Shami found some extra bounce with his first nut and Adil Rashid edged behind to Parthiv Patel. After a thick edge for four, Anderson got his reverse sweep out for a couple and was in full flow by the time Shami pinned Gareth Batty LBW for one and England were all out for 283.
Chris Woakes thought he’d marked his return to the side with an early wicket after strangling Patel down the legside but though Marais Erasmus gave it out on the field, the left-hander’s review showed it had flicked his shirt not his bat.
Both Patel and Murali Vijay looked to take the attack to both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid when both were introduced early on and largely succeeded. India had moved to 39-0 when a diving Buttler at mid-wicket dropped a tough chance offered by Vijay. Ben Stokes ensured England wouldn’t go to lunch wicketless though, Vijay fending unwisely at a short and wide delivery before walking. India 60-1 at lunch, a deficit of 223.
They were two down for 73 when an excellent review yielded the wicket of Patel. The 31-year-old came down the track to Rashid and was struck below the knee roll. Both bowler and wicketkeeper were keen and Alastair Cook went upstairs, the pictures offering three red lights.
That brought Virat Kohli to the crease and England did a good job of restricting his movement early in his innings, but after several tight overs from Woakes and Anderson he broke the shackles with back-to-back boundaries as Stokes was introduced.
Still, England steadily built momentum, only the odd boundary relieving the pressure, and Stokes was unlucky not to be rewarded for a fine spell - Pujara feathering an edge down the legside to offer Bairstow a difficult chance that he couldn't hold onto.
Pujara brought up his half century in precisely 100 balls after Batty was introduced, the spinner going for 15 off his first two overs. The Surrey man did get one to lift on Kohli but the ball dropped safely where short leg would have been. India, at tea, trailed England by 135 runs.
But the game turned around in the space of 15 post-interval minutes. First, Pujara misjudged a pull off Rashid and Woakes ran in from the deep to take a brilliant catch inches from the turf. Soon after, Ajinkya Rahane was trapped plumb in front by Rashid, his review a mystery to England's fielders.
That gave Rashid 16 wickets in the series, more than the great Shane Warne ever managed from a Test series in India. And things would get better for England.
Still, England steadily built momentum, only the odd boundary relieving the pressure, and Stokes was unlucky not to be rewarded for a fine spell - Pujara feathering an edge down the legside to offer Bairstow a difficult chance that he couldn't hold onto.
Pujara brought up his half century in precisely 100 balls after Batty was introduced, the spinner going for 15 off his first two overs. The Surrey man did get one to lift on Kohli but the ball dropped safely where short leg would have been. India, at tea, trailed England by 135 runs.
But the game turned around in the space of 15 post-interval minutes. First, Pujara misjudged a pull off Rashid and Woakes ran in from the deep to take a brilliant catch inches from the turf. Soon after, Ajinkya Rahane was trapped plumb in front by Rashid, his review a mystery to England's fielders.
That gave Rashid 16 wickets in the series, more than the great Shane Warne ever managed from a Test series in India. And things would get better for England.
After Kohli drove square from a Woakes delivery, Jos Buttler dived to stop the ball at point, rose to his knees and threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end to leave debutant Karun Nair stranded. All of a sudden, India were 156-5.
Ravi Ashwin cracked Woakes for couple of boundaries to get off and running but then England landed the big fish, as Kohli feathered an edge through to Bairstow off Stokes to depart for 62, sparking jubilant celebrations from the tourists.
At that stage, India were 204-6 and some 79 runs behind. But not for the first time in this series, Ravi Ashwin proved a scourge with the bat and he played aggressively to reach his half century, Ravindra Jadeja providing able assistance.
Their partnership was worth 67 by the close, tipping the balance back in the home side's favour to close just 12 runs behind. But having looked down and out for so long, England are back in the mix and battling hard, after an enthralling day of Test cricket.
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