James Anderson's splendid spell of fast bowling helped England take control of the first Test against India on a rain-affected third day at Lord's on Saturday.
The pace bowler took five wickets for 42 runs to bundle out India for a paltry 201 in their first innings.
In reply, England were 77 for 2 in the second innings, extending their overall lead to 174 runs.
Zaheer Khan's bowling was the only bright spot for India on an otherwise lackluster day for the tourists. He took two quick wickets in the second essay, those of Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss, to help India peg back the hosts.
Earlier, India failed to offer any resistance on the third morning and lost their last six wickets for 56 runs, giving England a handy lead of 97 runs.
Ryan Sidebottom also dished out an impressive performance, taking four wickets for 65 runs in 22 overs, as the Indian batting came apart pretty tamely on a sunny day.
Morning session: (64 runs, 22.2 overs, 6 wickets)
Resuming on 145 for 4 wickets, India added just 10 runs before losing the key wicket of Sourav Ganguly in the sixth over of the day. The left-hander, who scored 34, was beaten all ends up by James Anderson as the ball sneaked through his pads onto the stumps.
Getting a wicket so early in the day was a real big boost for the England pacers as they looked to stifle India well below their first innings score of 298.
R P Singh hit a couple of boundaries off Chris Tremlett and it seemed he was carried away a bit. In the next over he tried to hoist Ryan Sidebottom over mid-on but could only spoon a simple catch to Anderson and be dismissed for 17 as India were reduced to 173 for 6.
The onus now lay on V V S Laxman and M S Dhoni, the last recognized batsmen who could guide India out of trouble. Another 100-run partnership and India would find themselves in the safe zone. But that was not to be. Dhoni played a strange shot and gifted his wicket away. He guided Anderson straight to Ian Bell at third slip and was out for a duck in his first appearance at Lord's.
It seemed a very silly shot given the state of the match, with India needing him to spend some time at the wicket and play out the seamers.
India were in deep trouble having been reduced to 175 for 7 and Laxman once again had the difficult task of anchoring the innings in the company of the tail-enders.
Anil Kumble could not hang for long; he fell leg before wicket to Sidebottom for 11. He strode forward to a straight delivery from Sidebottom but the ball hit his pad first before the bat and he was ruled out by umpire Simon Taufel. A closer look at television replays showed that ball could have gone over the stumps.
Undoing the good work by their bowlers on the second morning, the Indian batting was falling apart rather tamely.
Laxman could not hold fort either; he fell caught behind for 15 off Sidebottom as India slid to 197 for 9. A rather loose shot saw him hanging out the bat to an out-swinging delivery from Sidebottom and the thin edge went straight to wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
In the first 20 overs of the day the famed Indian batting had lost five wickets for the addition of just 52 runs.
Anderson finished things in style when he got the wicket of Zaheer, who top edged to the slips while attempting a pull shot. It gave the England pacer his fifth wicket of the innings, the third time he achieved the feat in Test matches and the second at Lord's. Quite deservedly, he was allowed the privilege of leading the team off the Lord's turf.
India were bowled out for 201, giving England a lead of 201 runs.
Anderson finished as the top England bowler of the innings, taking 5 for 42 in 24.2 overs. Sidebottom was not far behind as he took 4 for 65 in 22 overs, his best figures in Test cricket.
It was tame surrender by the Indian batsmen. Even before they got their eye in, they were attempting to get the scoreboard moving. It wasn't a surprise watching them come apart yet again on foreign soil.
For England, with a 97-run lead, even a modest batting effort in the range of 250 or 300 would be enough.
England innings:
Just two overs were played in England's second innings before the lunch break. Once again S Sreesanth started badly; he bowled on Alastair Cook's pads and the batsman promptly hit him for two boundaries on the leg side as England went to lunch at 8 for no loss.
India will hope that the seamers can have a good start in the second innings and claim a few early wickets. In the first innings, they found the going tough initially as England rattled up more than 100 in a single session against the new ball.
Post-lunch session: (46 runs, 16.2 overs, 2 wickets)
The start of play after lunch was delayed by nearly two hours due to heavy rain. Nearly 20 overs were lost because of the delay, but when play resumed at 1530 local time, the sun shone brightly.
Runs came quickly after the break as the Indian pacers again erred with their line and length. England raced to 31 by the seventh over before Zaheer got one to swing in. The ball struck Cook (12) right in front of the stumps, but umpire Steve Bucknor turned down the appeal.
However, Zaheer struck in his sixth over, the 11th of the innings, when he had Strauss caught at first slip for 18. A perfectly-pitched delivery that swung a bit, invited the batsmen to play, and the edge went straight to Sachin Tendulkar.
In his next over, Zaheer then dismissed the other opener, Cook (17), trapping him leg before wicket with an incoming delivery. England were reduced to 43 for 2.
The two left-armers, R P Singh and Zaheer, in tandem bowled a neat little spell as they time and again tested the English batsmen outside off-stump.
England survived a few tough overs before rain intervened again. Tea was taken with England on 54 for 2 after 18.4 overs, for an overall lead of 151 runs.
India did manage to peg England back with that two-wicket burst from Zaheer, but they still have a lot to do. The poor batting display in the first innings has made their task very difficult and one feels only rain can help them save the match.
Sreesanth again disappointed in his first spell, giving away 18 runs in 5 overs. Most of the time he failed to make the batsmen play enough deliveries. R P Singh took over from the Kerala pacer and showed some good control with the new ball. Perhaps, he could given the new ball the next time India take it.
Post-tea session: (23 runs, 8.4 overs, no wickets)
It took ages for play to resume after the tea break as persistent rain and a wet outfield delayed the start by about two hours after the break.
Only 8.4 overs were possible after resumption and England safely negotiated them, scoring 23 runs without any damage.
Pietersen remained unbeaten on 15, inclusive of two boundaries. Giving him company at the other end was Vaughan on 16, inclusive of three boundaries.
It ended a frustrating day at Lord's. The frequent showers of rain ensured that only 47.2 overs were possible in the day. England finished the day on 77 for 2 in 27 overs, for an overall lead of 174 runs.
They will now hope for a clear Sunday to garner some quick runs and put India in to bat at some stage in the day.
India can only hope for something miraculous from their bowlers on day four and some bad weather. There is only one team that can go on to win the match and that is England. Best India can just hope is to hang on for a draw, but even that will take some doing if England go on to put a good total in their second essay.