Red-hot Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was unbeaten on 54 but England spinner Shoaib Bashir took three wickets to restrict the hosts to 131-4 at tea on the second day of the fourth Test on Saturday.
With India still 222 runs behind England's first innings of 353, Jaiswal was at the crease with Sarfaraz Khan on one at the end of the second session in Ranchi.
Joe Root hit an unbeaten 122 for England, who are fighting to stay alive in the five-match series at 2-1 behind.
Fast bowler James Anderson sent back Rohit Sharma, caught behind for two before lunch, but the left-handed Jaiswal rebuilt the innings in an 82-run stand with Shubman Gill, who made 38.
Jaiswal, who tops the series batting chart with more than 600 runs, including two match-winning double centuries in the second and third Tests, raised his bat to applause after reaching his fifty.
The 22-year-old finished the previous Test, his seventh, with 861 runs, needing 139 more to become the fourth-fastest to 1,000 runs.
Jaiswal survived a close call on 40 when he appeared to edge an Ollie Robinson delivery to Ben Foakes behind the wicket but the third umpire denied England's appeal after many replays.
Bashir, who missed the opening match due to a visa delay, sent back Gill and Rajat Patidar (17), both out lbw.
The lanky spinner then got Ravindra Jadeja caught at short-leg for 12.
Anderson moved to 697 wickets in the first session after Root ran out of partners and England were bowled out.
The 41-year-old is poised to become only the third bowler to enter the 700-wicket club after Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and the late Australian spin wizard Shane Warne (708).
Earlier, Joe Root remained unbeaten on 122 but ran out of partners as India bowled out England for 353 on day two of the fourth Test on Saturday.
Root put on 102 runs with overnight partner Ollie Robinson, who made 58, but his departure brought a quick end to the England innings.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja returned figures of 4-67 and wiped off the tail. Debutant fast bowler Akash Deep took three wickets.
Jadeja ended the century stand as he got Robinson caught behind off a reverse sweep, a decision the batsman reviewed. Replays suggested the ball grazed the glove on the way to the wicketkeeper.
Shoaib Bashir and last man James Anderson were both out for a duck off Jadeja.
Root, who made his 31st Test ton on the opening day to pull England out of early trouble from 112-5, remained patient after beginning the second morning on 106.
Robinson took on the Indian attack and raised his first Test fifty off Jadeja with a sweep for four, as skipper Ben Stokes led the applause from the dressing room.
Robinson, who is playing his first match in the series in place of Mark Wood, was the more active partner this morning and hit nine fours and one six in his 90-ball knock.
He started the day with a boundary off Mohammed Siraj, who soon took the second new ball, but England kept up the scoring as Robinson smashed Deep for three boundaries in an over.
Deep rattled the opposition with his three early wickets on Friday after the tourists elected to bat first.
Scoreboard
England 1st innings (overnight 302-7, J. Root 106, O. Robinson 31)
- Crawley b Deep 42
- Duckett c Jurel b Deep 11
- Pope lbw b Deep 0
- Root not out 122
- Bairstow lbw b Ashwin 38
- Stokes lbw b Jadeja 3
- Foakes c Jadeja b Siraj 47
- Hartley b Siraj 13
- Robinson c Jurel b Jadeja 58
- Bashir c Patidar b Jadeja 0
- Anderson lbw b Jadeja 0
Extras (b6, lb8, nb5) 19
Total (all out, 104.5 overs) 353
Fall of wickets: 1-47 (Duckett), 2-47 (Pope), 3-57 (Crawley), 4-109 (Bairstow), 5-112 (Stokes), 6-225 (Foakes), 7-245 (Hartley), 8-347 (Robinson), 9-349 (Bashir), 10-353 (Anderson)
Bowling: Siraj 18-3-78-2, Deep 19-0-83-3 (nb4), Jadeja 32.5-7-67-4 (nb1), Ashwin 22-1-83-1, Kuldeep 12-4-22-0, Jaiswal 1-0-6-0
Toss: England
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI), Rod Tucker (AUS)
TV Umpire: Joel Wilson (WIS)
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)