Following starter Ben Duckett’s 28-run collapse, England, who now lead the five-match series 1-0, reached 67-1 at stumps.
Before Ravichandran Ashwin removed him for his 497th Test wicket, left-hander Duckett, who was batting on 29, embarked on an aggressive 50-run partnership with fellow opener Zak Crawley.
Rehan Ahmed, the night watchman, joined Crawley at nine, with England needing three more points to win.
England’s 378 at Edgbaston in 2022 is the largest fourth-inning target they have successfully pursued against India, and the highest total in India was 387 against England in 2008.
On a brilliant day of bowling and fielding, spinners Tom Hartley and Ahmed combined to bowl out India for 255 following Gill’s 104.
James Anderson, an experienced fast bowler, removed the openers quickly, and when skipper Ben Stokes made an incredible catch, India lost further ground till Gill stabilised the batting.
With two crucial stands, including an 89-run partnership with Axar Patel, Shubman Gill scored his third Test century and first in his 12 innings since March 2023, helping India overcome a 122-4 deficit.
With a single against rookie spinner Shoaib Bashir, he got the hundred and lifted his bat in front of the applauding Sunday crowd.
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He soon tried a reverse sweep, but Bashir caught him behind, and he was out. The umpire overturned the dismissal, but replays showed that the ball had just touched the batsman’s glove before wicketkeeper Ben Foakes made a fine catch.
After two near-miss LBW calls and one successful review, Gill had two fortunate escapes on four, but he batted smoothly with his flicks and drives till his exit.
England persisted in chipping away, and by teatime, India was six behind with to Hartley’s left-arm spin, which yielded figures of 4-77.
Ashwin put up a resolute 29-run stand before Ahmed removed him to complete the innings with his third wicket.
Shreyas Iyer made 29 in the opening session before being removed thanks to a Stokes magic moment.
Iyer tried a huge blow off Hartley, but Stokes made a breakaway from mid-off, diving full length to make an incredible catch.
During a fantastic morning fast bowling session, Anderson pitched and went away from Rohit Sharma’s stumps, giving him a rattle.
After that, the veteran wicket-taker trapped left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal at first slip, earning him his 695th Test wicket.
India started the second innings on a 28-0 score and held a 143-run lead.