England regained composure in the evening session after India tried to prevent the visitors from storming to a first-innings lead, claiming five wickets on day one of the fourth Test in Nagpur.
The visitors closed the day on 199-5 after winning the toss and choosing to bat, but wickets began to tumble when Nick Compton was bowled out by Ishant Sharma and influential captain Alastair Cook was dealt an early blow shortly after when Sharma dismissed the 27-year-old for one with an lbw.
England looked in trouble sitting on 16-2 in the morning session but Jonathan Trott managed to put in an impressive innings as anchor, while Kevin Pietersen racked up his fifty for the tourists, leading England to 97-2 shortly after lunch.
India began to take control before tea by claiming the wickets of Trott and Ian Bell for one and another big scalp came for Ravindra Jadeja, whose throw forced Pietersen's ball into the hands of Pragyan Ojha. The batsman was sent off the field with 73 runs to his name.
Joe Root came out to the crease for his first Test for England and despite the pressure, managed to dig deep to keep totting up England's run-rate.
The 21-year-old and Matt Prior were able to regain control of their innings by finishing the day with a combined 65 runs.
England can draw the fourth and final Test to win the series.
