James Anderson and Ben Stokes led England’s fightback on the second day of the fourth and final test as India struggled to 153-6 on Friday.
Anderson (2-19) pinned down India's top order with 17 disciplined overs of seam bowling while Stokes (2-33) dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck to leave the home team trailing by 52 runs at tea.
Kohli was dismissed without scoring for the second time in the series as England hit back with three wickets in the first session after India resumed overnight on 24-1.
Stokes also denied Rohit Sharma (49) a half-century when he trapped him lbw after lunch. Sharma, who opened the innings late on the first day, faced 144 balls and hit seven boundaries.
Rishabh Pant survived an lbw referral off Dom Bess in the last over before tea and was unbeaten on 36 while Washington Sundar was 1 not out.
Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin (13) successfully overturned a caught-behind decision off Stokes but did not last much longer as left-arm spinner Jack Leach (2-43) found his leading edge.
Stokes also held on to a sharp catch in the last over before lunch to remove Ajinkya Rahane for 27 in a session dominated by England.
A win or draw for India, which leads the series 2-1, will send it into the world test championship final against New Zealand in June.
