England’s Joe Root and James Anderson rewrote the record books with a Test record last-wicket stand but a docile Trent Bridge pitch threatened to have the last word in their series opener with India.
The pair put on 198 to take England to 496 on the fourth day in reply to India’s first innings 457.
However, the Indians were 3-167 in their second innings at stumps, a lead of 128 runs.
Virat Kohli was eight not out and Ajinkya Rahane, looking in fine touch, on 18.
But just when the visitors were on the verge of making a draw all but inevitable, they lost two well-set batsmen with the score on 140.
First-innings century-maker Murali Vijay (52) went down the pitch to part-time off-spinner Moeen Ali and got an edge to wicketkeeper Matt Prior, although the batsman was so far out of his ground he could have been stumped as well.
Next ball Cheteshwar Pujara (55) cut at fast bowler Liam Plunkett and Ben Stokes, at backward point, grabbed the catch at the second attempt after the ball hit his chest.
Earlier, Root made 154 not out – his third score in excess of 150 in 18 Tests.
Anderson’s personal best 81 was the third highest score by any Test match No.11 after Australian Ashton Agar’s 98 against England at Trent Bridge last year and Tino Best’s 95 for the West Indies, also against England, at Edgbaston in 2012.
The England duo’s stand surpassed the previous tenth-wicket Test record of 163 – shared by Agar and Phil Hughes in Nottingham last year.
It was the second tenth-wicket stand of this Test after Bhuvneshwar Kumar (58) and Mohammed Shami (51 not out) had put on 111 in India’s first innings.
And it meant this match was also the first in 137 years of Test cricket where both sides had seen their last-wicket duo share hundred partnerships and both number elevens – Shami and Anderson – had made fifties.
As India began their second innings, Vijay, who made 146 in the first innings, should have been out for nought when he edged England spearhead Anderson but Prior failed to get anything on the low chance.
But England did manage a wicket when Ali, taking the pitch out of the equation, struck in his first over to have the disbelieving Shikhar Dhawan caught and bowled off a full toss for a run-a-ball 29.
England, after losing six wickets for 68 runs in the face of accurate bowling from Kumar and Ishant Sharma on Friday, resumed on 9-352 with Root 78 not out and Anderson 23 not out.
But India’s seamers were unable to generate the same reverse swing they’d managed on Friday.
Anderson, whose previous best at this level was 34, completed a maiden fifty in his 95th Test by pulling Shami for his 11th four in just 61 balls.
The umpires had to intervene when Sharma and Root, with no Decision Review System this series, exchanged words after the bowler thought he had the batsman caught behind for 150.
Soon afterwards, Anderson – still on his lunch score of 81 – edged Kumar (five for 82) to Dhawan at first slip to end a near four-hour innings.
