India need seven fifth-day wickets to beat England at Edgabaston and head to Lord’s with the series level. It would be a first Test win as captain for Shubman Gill, who followed his 269 in the first innings with 161 in the second, declared at drinks to set a world-record target of 608, then watched Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep prise out England’s top order.

The fourth day was dominated by intrigue about the timing of India’s declaration, which arrived far later than many expected and left England facing an ideological problem. After a single draw – and that one prompted by two days of rain – in the last three years, would they finally tone down their approach with the bat and accept that winning was off the table?

The answer will only become clear tomorrow, with two of the three wickets that fell on Saturday evening owing to Akash’s skill rather than their batters’ attacking intent. By the close, Ollie Pope was clinging on after a working-over from India’s seamers, and the notion that England could score more than 500 runs on the final day seemed academic.

Siraj had Zak Crawley to thank for his early strike. Crawley endured a miserable day, dropping a catch to reprieve Rishabh Pant, and after playing out a maiden in the first over of England’s second innings – as though setting the tone for a more watchful approach – he was suckered into a hard-handed drive which flew to slip.

Deep was sublime with the new ball, adding two second-innings wickets to his four in the first. He cramped Ben Duckett for room with a ball that angled into the left-hander from around the wicket and then decked in off the seam to induce a chop-on, then found late movement away to beat Root on the outside edge and clean him up.

India came close to a fourth wicket, with Pope characteristically frenzied early in his innings, and the only blemish on their bowling effort came in the form of two burned reviews in the first ten overs. But if Gill is still getting to grips with the DRS, he has proved across these first two Tests that he is a far, far better player than his average heading into this tour might have suggested.

Gill’s latest hundred – his third of the series, and eighth overall – came wrapped in gift wrap, and adorned with a gold bow. He scored more than half of his runs off England’s spinners, who hardly turned a ball between them on a lifeless pitch, milked singles at will with the field spread, and treated occasional bouncer barrages with utter disdain.

He seized his opportunity to reassert his dominance after grinding England into the dirt in the first innings, and broke a number of records along the way. Gill is the first player in the format’s history, spanning more than 2,500 matches, to score 200 and 150 in the same match; only once has a batter scored more than his 430-run aggregate in a single Test.

Gill had walked in to the backdrop of gloomy skies on the fourth morning, after Brydon Carse had induced an outside edge from Karun Nair, and survived an lbw review off his sixth ball thanks to an inside edge. But he was soon into his work, playing late to steer boundaries away behind square on the off side, and after a sharp first spell, the stiff Carse was not seen again.

After KL Rahul, who batted fluently for 55, was cleaned up by Josh Tongue’s full outswinger, Pant made his intentions clear by charging down the pitch to slap his fourth ball back over Tongue’s head for six. Dropped on 10 by Zak Crawley, Pant threw his bat – quite literally, twice losing grip of it – during his 65, flogging both Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.

Ben Stokes ran out of ideas – and fit bowlers – as the same pair toiled away after the lunch break. The wisdom of Tongue’s short-ball ploy to Gill was proven by a flurry of six, four and four off consecutive balls, followed by another six and a flat-bat for four in his next over which took him past 50.

Pant’s dismissal – caught at long-off, while his bat flew to midwicket – brought some respite, with Ravindra Jadeja curiously ponderous after a promotion to No. 6. But Gill marched relentlessly on, nudging Bashir off his hips to reach his third hundred in four innings before hitting Chris Woakes’ first three balls after tea for six, four and four.

Jadeja had 25 off 68 at tea but switched gears straight after, skipping down and launching his first ball of the evening session back over Bashir’s head for six. He celebrated with his trademark sword-swish after cutting Joe Root for four to reach fifty, while Gill freed his arms by launching Root and Bashir into the stands.

Gill miscued a return catch to Bashir on 161, but the declaration was still on ice: Nitish Kumar Reddy walked to the crease to pantomime boos from the Eric Hollies Stand, then a chant of “boring, boring India”. After Reddy holed out second ball, Washington Sundar lofted over cover to take the lead to 600; when the clock ticked past five, the signal finally arrived.

Brief scores:
England 407 in 89.3 overs and 72 for 3 in 16 overs (Ben Duckett 25, Ollie Pope 24*, Harry Brook 15*;  Akash Deep 2-36) need 536 more runs to beat India 587 in 151 overs  and 427 for 6 dec in 83 overs  (Yashasvi Jaiswal 28, KL Rahul 55, Karun Nair 26, Shubman Gill 161, Ravindra Jadeja 69*, Rishabh  Pant 65; Josh  Tongue 2-93, Shoaib Basheer 2-119)

[Crickinfo]