England’s spinners kept alive hopes of setting up a Dharamshala decider with the fourth Test on a knife edge as India lurched from 84 for none to 100 for three, chasing 192.
India’s propulsion to 40 without loss from eight overs at stumps on day three left them needing a further 152, and Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal found boundaries easy to come by on Monday morning.
But, as the run rate dried up, Joe Root snared Jaiswal for 37 before Tom Hartley nicked off Rohit for 55, with Shoaib Bashir then having Rajat Patidar caught bat-pad as India went to lunch on 118 for three – still needing a further 74 runs to move into an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
On a tricky pitch offering turn and uneven bounce, England will remain optimistic they can level things up before heading to the foothills of the Himalayas for the fifth Test, starting on March 7.
Bashir was bullish about England’s prospects of an unlikely win the previous evening, insisting “we’ve got a chance to be heroes” but there was little to crow about early on.
Rohit lofted James Anderson into the stands beyond deep midwicket for six, with even Ben Stokes nodding in admiration, while Jaiswal – the leading run scorer in the series – used conventional and reverse sweeps to take fours off Bashir and Hartley.
But Bashir and Hartley gradually offered more control and when Root came on for one over, he tossed one up to Jaiswal, who was tempted into a big swing but instead miscued to backward point, where a diving Anderson took a fine low catch.
The big fish was Rohit and England’s animated celebrations – particularly Stokes – upon his dismissal told its own tale.
Rohit advanced to Hartley and seemed to be beaten on the outside edge as Ben Foakes whipped off the bails, but it was subsequently found the India captain had got a tickle to the ball.
Seven balls later, the out-of-form Patidar got an inside edge into his pad to Ollie Pope, who took an excellent catch leaping to his right at short-leg, and England were cock-a-hoop.
Harley scuttled one along the ground to Ravindra Jadeja, beating leg stump and rolling away for four byes – India’s first boundary in 11.3 overs. Shubman Gill (18 not out off 62 balls) and Jadeja (3no off 29) went at a trickle but made sure there were no further casualties.
ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.
Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.
Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.
Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.
Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.
"Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].
"We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.
"You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.
"We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
Bairstow set sights on swift England Test return
Jonny Bairstow bit back when asked if he was targeting an England return, insisting it is "all I want to do."
Bairstow was dropped from England's Test team for the ongoing series against West Indies.
The 34-year-old was part of England's T20 World Cup squad, and played in all five Tests of the tour of India earlier this year.
Bairstow has made 100 Test appearances, and when asked what his immediate target was, the wicketkeeper-batsman told former England captain and now-BBC Sport pundit Michael Vaughan: "All I want to do is play for England. That's end of.
"You don't need to ask me that do you? I think you know me well enough and I think you've known me for long enough to know that."
Bairstow did, however, enjoy a break away from the game, having had four weeks off before he joined the Welsh Fire for the Hundred.
He said: "At the same time it's been a great period of time.
"I had the best part of seven months away from home. Since January, I had five nights at home in my own bed since, until three weeks ago.
"That's the thing you have to sacrifice, time at home but at the same time, when you are away for that period of time, it takes its toll."
England are 2-0 up against the Windies in their three-match series, with the final Test starting at Edgbaston on Friday.
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