Jos Buttler's well-judged 69 helped to leave India facing a record run-chase if they were to win the fourth Test against England at Southampton and so level the series. England were 260 for eight in their second innings, a lead of 233 runs, at stumps on Saturday's third day.
The most India have made to win in the fourth innings of a Test in England is 174 at The Oval in 1971. That match also saw them achieve their first Test win on English soil. Sam Curran, fresh from his Test-best 78 in the first innings, was 37 not out after adding 55 for the seventh wicket with Buttler. Adil Rashid (11) was caught behind off a Mohammed Shami leg-cutter off what became the last ball of the day.
The paceman led India's attack with three wickets for 53 runs from 13.5 overs. Last week saw Buttler display a well-judged mixture of aggression and defence during his maiden Test century, albeit one made with India well on the way to a 203-run victory that left them 2-1 down in this five-match series.
Those same qualities were on display in Southampton, where Buttler made 85 on his Test debut, also against India, four years ago. They were needed after England slumped to 92 for four - the 33rd time in 64 Test innings they had been four wickets down for 100 or fewer runs. Shami took two wickets in two balls separated by the lunch break before running out England captain Joe Root for 48 with a direct hit.
Scoreboard
England 1st Innings 246 (S Curran 78; J Bumrah 3-46)
India 1st Innings 273 (C Pujara 132 no; M Ali 5-63, S Broad 3-63)
England 2nd Innings (overnight: 6-0)
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A. Cook c Rahul b Bumrah 12
K. Jennings lbw b Shami 36
M. Ali c Rahul b Sharma 9
J. Root run out (Shami) 48
J. Bairstow b Shami 0
B. Stokes c Rahane b Ashwin 30
J. Buttler lbw b Sharma 69
S. Curran not out 37
A. Rashid c Pant b Shami 11
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Extras: (b7, lb1) 8
Total: (8 wkts, 91.5 overs, 403 mins) 260
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To bat: S Broad, J Anderson
Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Cook), 2-33 (Ali), 3-92 (Jennings), 4-92 (Bairstow), 5-122 (Root), 6-178 (Stokes), 7-233 (Buttler), 8-260 (Rashid)
Bowling: Ashwin 35-7-78-1; Bumrah 19-3-51-1; Sharma 15-4-36-2; Shami 13.5-0-53-3; Pandya 9-0-34-0;
India: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wkt), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
Match position: England lead by 233 runs with two wickets standing.
Toss: England
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI), Bruce Oxenford (AUS)
TV umpire: Joel Wilson (WIS)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM).
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