On Day 3, Indian batsmen lived up to the reputation and frustrated the England bowlers. KL Rahul and Nair scuttled the English attack after the quick dismissals of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli.
At the end of Day 3, India were 391 for 4 with Nair on 71 and Vijay on 17 remain unbeaten. India still trails by 86 runs with six wickets remaining.
KL Rahul and Parthiv Patel added 152 for the opening partnership and Rahul and Nair put on 161 for the fourth wicket.
KL Rahul was on verge of becoming the second Indian opener to score double century against England but Adil Rashid dismissed him for 199. Rahul was stunned so the crowd at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
Rahul and Nair added 161 for the fourth wicket.
After the quick dismissals of Pujara and Kohli, India were pushed to the wall but KL Rahul and Nair consolidated the Indian innings with some delectable technique.
At tea on Day 3, India were 256 for 3 with KL Rahul on 133 and Nair on 19 at the crease.
For a change, English bowlers dominated the post-lunch session with the dismissal of Pujara and Kohli in quick succession.
Post-lunch, England bowlers struck telling blows by removing Cheteshwar Pujara (16) and captain Virat Kolhli (15) quickly to put India on the back foot.
The bright spot for India is the century by KL Rahul. After lunch, Rahul completed his century and is batting brilliantly.
Lokesh Rahul and Parthiv Patel put on a record opening stand as India reached 173-1 at lunch on Sunday on day three of the fifth cricket Test against England.
At the break, Rahul was unbeaten on 89 runs, while Cheteshwar Pujara was batting on 11 not out, leaving the hosts trailing by 304 runs in the first innings. They added 21 runs for the second wicket and India scored 113 runs in the morning session.
Starting from an overnight total of 60 without loss, Rahul and Patel extended their opening partnership to 152 runs.
It was the highest stand for the first wicket for India against England in India. The previous best was 135 runs by Sunil Gavaskar and Farokh Engineer in Mumbai in 1973.
Rahul hit two sixes within the first hour of play as India scored at more than four runs per over. India's 100-mark came up in the 30th over as Rahul reached his second Test half-century, and first in India, off 96 deliveries, including three fours and two sixes.
Patel reached his sixth Test half-century off 84 balls. Later, they brought up their 150-partnership off 249 balls.
The left-handed keeper-batsman was then caught at cover off Moeen Ali (1-53), as he tried to attack the bowler. Patel scored 71 runs, facing 112 balls and hitting four fours.
It was Patel's highest Test score, exceeding the 69 runs he scored against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2004.
India has a winning 3-0 edge in the series.
Scoreboard:
England 1st innings: 477
India 1st innings:
Lokesh Rahul not out 89
Parthiv Patel c Buttler b Ali 71
Cheteshwar Pujara not out 11
Extras: (LB—2) 2
Total: (For 1 wicket in 48 overs) 173
Fall of wickets: 1—152.
Bowling: Stuart Broad 9—2—26—0, Jake Ball 8—0—24—0, Moeen Ali 15—1—53—1, Ben Stokes 2—0—12—0, Adil Rashid 8—0—37—0, Liam Dawson 6—1—19—0.
