England made a confident start to their innings on day two of the third Test in Kolkatta, reaching 22 without loss at lunch.
Alastair Cook and Nick Compton batted sensibly for 11 overs to make lunch with their wickets intact.
India were bowled out for 316 earlier in the morning thanks to a combination of pace and spin.
Monty Panesar made the breakthrough after a frustrating start to the day, taking the wicket of Zaheer Kahn lbw with a sliding delivery.
Ishant Sharma was clean bowled for a duck moments later to give Panesar his fourth wicket of a productive innings.
MS Dhoni showed flashes of brilliance on his favoured pitch to bring up a half-century and frustrate the visitors for nearly an hour.
Steven Finn eventually forced Dhoni into a costly mistake when his pace forced a lopping shot into the path of Graeme Swann.
After dropping an early chance, Swann took his time and produced a fine diving catch to end Dhoni's stubborn resistance on 52 runs and keep England in the ascendancy.
