England and India both claim to have upper hand heading into decisive fourth day

India’s first-innings centurion Cheteshwar Pujara said the conditions now favoured their side but England’s Jos Buttler, by contrast, reckoned that they were in the stronger position

The fourth Test – and the series – remains in the balance (AP)

India are confident of victory against England in the fourth Test, despite a long and draining day in the field during which England carved out a formidable lead of 233. Sam Curran and Stuart Broad will resume on Sunday morning with quick runs on their mind, but despite the prospect of facing Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid in the fourth-innings on a turning surface, India’s first-innings centurion Cheteshwar Pujara said the conditions now favoured their side.

“The pitch has slowed down a bit,” said Pujara, whose unbeaten 132 on Friday remains the game’s only century. “It looks a little easier to bat. If we had batted better in the first innings, we could have got another 100. In the second innings, we’ll put up a better show.

“We are used to these conditions at home. We’ve played on such wickets in India, where the bounce is low. So our batters are used to such bounce, and that could be in our favour. Moeen is a good bowler, but we still should have batted better against him. We’ll have a better gameplan against him in the second innings.”

England’s Jos Buttler, by contrast, reckoned that they were in the stronger position. “It’s nice to have the runs on the board,” he said after again top-scoring for England with 69. “Having seen the wear and tear in the wicket, there’s quite a bit of rough outside the right-hander’s off-stump, and with the seamers we’ve seen a bit of variable bounce.”

England sprang a surprise early on day three when Moeen Ali was promoted to No3 ahead of captain Joe Root, scoring a scratchy 9 before edging behind. Buttler described the move as a “pure tactical decision”, and said it had been largely spontaneous.

“Moeen’s been in such fantastic form, and bats No3 for Worcester, and we just thought it was a nice move for him,” Buttler said. “I’m not sure what will happen moving forward, but today it just felt like the right decision. In time, stability will be important. At the moment, we’re still trying to find the best combinations.”