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Resolute, steely-eyed, and watchful, Virat Kohli strode out with intent after the fall of Rohit Sharma who departed for a composed 59 - his second fifty on the tour so far.
The day ended with Virat Kohli unbeaten on 45. At the other end, Cheteshwar Pujara let his bat do the talking after a while and led the way with 91 to help India bounce back on day three.
KL Rahul had done all the hard work playing his part in softening off the new ball but fell at the stroke of lunch for eight off 54 deliveries.
Sharma and Pujara stitched a 82-run partnership to set the tone for what would be a leather hunt for England, Kohli took over from where the Mumbai bat left off with an unbeaten 99-run stand.
What did Cheteshwar Pujara do right?
The conditions were tailormade for batting, and Pujara battling for his place in the side and the sheer weight of expectation and criticism came good.
There were times when he took a few on the body, but he had his revenge when he dispatched the loose deliveries. Anything down the leg was flicked away with utter disdain, anything angling away was left, and if there was a ball to be hit, it was pushed around.
It helped Pujara's case that James Anderson, in the words of Nasser Hussain, "bowled too tightly for the Saurashtra bat.
In his attempt to rap Pujara on the pads with a plethora of inswingers, he strayed and sprayed the cherry on the leg side.
It helped that Craig Overton and Ollie Robinson didn't do much to threaten him, and Pujara cashed in on the opportunity and his knock, studded with 15 hits to the fence, will maybe see him a lot more peacefully.
What did Virat Kohli do right?
Virat Kohli, battling inconsistency, did what Pujara did. It was a carbon copy of his No.3's approach and was loaded with oodles of class. There were glimpses of the 2018 Virat Kohli and that is a good sign for him and India.
He hardly put a foot wrong and gave nothing away, not even to Anderson, who gave the most runs in the hope that he could make up for it by luring Kohli with those damned outswingers.
Is it too early to say once bitten twice shy? We don't know. There will be a new ball to start the proceedings on day four and that means Friday's win is for Friday and the following day, it's pretty much an 'Edge of Tomorrow' reset.
Kohli's 45 seems like a fifty already, and for good reason. He used his ODI approach - quick between wickets, eager to score runs, dominate bowlers, threading thin gaps and bringing out those luscious drives.
What to expect from India on day four?
It's a no-brainer to say they will hope to carve a healthy lead and force a draw. It was pretty much a safe result and a great confidence boost heading into the fourth Test after their first innings debacle.
India will hope that Kohli and Pujara remain firm and undeterred, and expect the likes of Ajinkya Rahane (in dire need of runs) and a misfiring Rishabh Pant to follow in their footsteps.
India trail by 139 runs and with the new ball the results could swing either way. However, a similar approach by Virat Kohli and Pujara tomorrow would be a massive game-changer.
One can only hope.
