India were left with the Herculean task of chasing a world record 420 after England refused to declare in an unfocussed second essay, cut short by Ravichandran Ashwin’s brilliance on a sharply turning fourth day strip in the opening Test here on Monday. At stumps, India were 39-1, requiring another 381 runs to set a new record and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The world record is 418, chased by West Indies against Australia in 2003.

Ashwin returned excellent figures of 6-61 to snap England’s second innings at 178 after the home team conceded a massive first-innings lead of 241 runs. With Rohit Sharma (12) back in the hut, Shubman Gill (15) and Cheteshwar Pujara (12) will begin the proceedings for India on the fifth and final day. India would have been in a bigger hole had it not been for a seventh-wicket partnership of 80 runs between Washington Sundar (85) and Ashwin, who also contributed a 31 with the bat before picking his career’s 28th five-wicket haul.