India are 248-6 in their reply to Australia's first-innings total of 300 in the fourth Test meeting after being restricted by the bowling of Nathan Lyon on day two.
Lyon ended Sunday's session on 67-4 to leave the hosts trailing by 52 runs in Dharamsala, having failed to build up a sizeable total in their response.
KL Rahul (60), Cheteshwar Pujara (57) and Ajinkya Rahane (46) spent long periods at the crease without causing too much damage to Australia's total, while Murali Vijay was edged behind off Josh Hazlewood for just 11 runs.
India were on 64-1 early on, and Rahul added a little more stability before being sent packing as the Men in Blue reached 153-2 by the end of the day's second session.
Peter Handscomb made a diving catch to bring an end to Pujara's spell at the crease, hitting 57 off 151 balls, while Karun Nair (5) was the next to fall to Lyon just a few overs later.
Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin (30) held firm at a time when Australian tails were up, only for Lyon to strike again by trapping the latter in front and leaving his side with some breathing space.