India captain Virat Kohli struck a sublime double century and his bowlers picked up three England wickets to put the hosts on course for a series-clinching victory in the fourth and penultimate test at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Trailing 2-0 in the series, England needed a win in Mumbai to keep the series alive but the tourists now require something extraordinary to save the match following Kohli’s batting masterclass.
India piled on 631 in their first innings on the fourth day, a lead of 231 runs over England, after Kohli’s third double century of the year.
When they returned, Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed first-innings centurion Keaton Jennings for a golden duck and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja sent back England captain Alastair Cook for 18 and Moeen Ali cheaply to leave England staring at a defeat.
The touring side were 49 for three in their second innings at tea, still trailing by 182. Joe Root was unbeaten on 30.
The 28-year-old Kohli was out for a career-best 235 and added 241 for the eighth wicket, the highest for India, with Jayant Yadav, who scored 104, his maiden test hundred.
Kohli, who was on 147 overnight, and Yadav continued to torment the England bowlers who went wicketless in the first session after India resumed on 451 for seven.
The right-handed batsman has now scored a double hundred in all three series India has played in 2016 – in West Indies, against New Zealand and now England.
Kohli, who has already scored 640 runs in the series at an average of 128, drove Jake Ball for a straight four on the fifth delivery of the day to get past 150, signalling another harrowing session for the England bowlers.
Kohli, who hit 25 fours and a six in his knock, got past his 200 with a single to mid-wicket off leg-spinner Adil Rashid but his celebration was quite muted compared to when he completed his hundred on Saturday.
He raised both his hands while completing the run, took off his helmet before acknowledging the applause from the sizeable Sunday crowd at the ground, overlooking the Arabian Sea.
Kohli went on to accelerate after the fall of Yadav and was out caught at the cover boundary off Chris Woakes.
Yadav, whose previous highest score was 55, hit 15 boundaries in his knock and only looked in discomfort against a couple of short deliveries from the England fast bowlers.
Rashid finished with four wickets.