England's formidable all-seam attack ran through India's top order reducing the tourists to 54-3 at lunch on the opening day of the fourth test at the Oval on Thursday.
A massive rebuilding job awaits India captain Virat Kohli when he resumes on 18 after the lunch break along with Ravindra Jadeja who was batting on two.
Put into bat, India got off to a brisk start throwing England's pace spearhead James Anderson out of the attack after his opening spell of 4-0-20-0.
England captain Joe Root pressed Chris Woakes into service and the fit-against bowler, playing his first test in 12 months, struck in his very first over.
Woakes surprised Rohit Sharma, who made 11, with extra bounce and Jonny Bairstow, replacing Jos Buttler behind the stumps, took the catch.
KL Rahul played a couple of glorious cover drives against Anderson and looked in good touch at the other end.
England wasted a review trying to get him lbw when the opener was rammed on his pad by an Ollie Robinson delivery.
In Robinson's next over, Rahul was trapped lbw for 17, and this time the opener reviewed the decision but could not get it overturned.
Anderson returned to account for Cheteshwar Pujara, who hung out his bat to be caught behind.
Jadeja was sent ahead of Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant, but this was not the only surprise the tourists sprang.
Frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was inexplicably left out again even though India made two changes.
Seamers Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur came in replacing the injured pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma.
England welcomed back all-rounder Woakes and middle order bat Ollie Pope in place of Sam Curran and Buttler.
Buttler missed the match to attend the birth of his second child.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Christian Radnedge)
