India's inadequacy against the moving ball was exposed yet again on the second day of the first Test at Edgbaston.
First Sam Curran ripped out the top order and later Ben Stokes bowled a fine spell after lunch as India suffered in unfamiliar conditions for the umpteenth time.
Things could have been much worse had England's fielders not dropped Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya off successive deliveries. It was a giant reprieve and the pair hunkered down to steady a ship that had been listing alarmingly.
Curran returned, though, to claim Pandya's wicket late in the second session. At tea on Thursday, India was 160 for six, with Kohli, who was dropped a second time, unbeaten on 53, his highest Test score on English soil.
England's innings lasted all of 10 balls in the morning, and out walked India's openers. Shikhar Dhawan looked unconvincing from the outset, playing and missing, while M. Vijay seemed more sure of himself, essaying a couple of crisp drives through the covers.
There were no hairy moments, though, as the pair put on 50 without loss, India's highest opening partnership in England since 2011.
The new ball had not caused any damage when on came Sam Curran. The 20-year-old left-armer was effective at once, striking in his third over. Vijay had been looking comfortable when Curran got the ball to move back in, trapping him leg-before.
K.L. Rahul, preferred over Cheteshwar Pujara here, lasted all of two balls. The first one took the outside edge and trickled away to the boundary. The second was full and slightly wider, and Rahul drove at it lazily. It came off the inside edge and cannoned onto the stumps.
In his next over, Curran put Dhawan out of his misery, the left-hander nicking off to second slip. India had lost three for nine in the space of 14 balls.
Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane held firm till lunch but what followed on the other side of it was a compelling, arresting hour of cricket.
In steamed Stokes whose pace and angle of delivery had India groping. Less than half an hour into the session, he angled one into Rahane and rapped him on the pads. The appeal for leg-before was turned down but England did not review it; replays showed the ball would have hit the stumps.
It did not matter, for minutes later Rahane gifted his wicket away, hanging his bat out to a wide delivery and edging to third slip. In his next over, Stokes bowled Dinesh Karthik neck and crop, the ball slanting in at 88mph to leave the batsman completely beaten.
At the other end Anderson soldiered on, having bowled virtually non-stop from the start of the innings. The battle between Kohli and him had been eagerly anticipated and it did not disappoint.
Anderson kept it on or around fourth stump, bending one in, bending one out, and left Kohli guessing. Three times he edged the ball, and three times the ball failed to carry. Off 43 deliveries that he faced from Anderson, Kohli managed only six runs, off two scoring shots. Anderson cast the bait out but Kohli wasn't biting. When he finally did, edging the ball to second slip in Anderson's 15th over (out of 16 from that end), David Malan shelled a straightforward chance.
Kohli was on 21 then, having failed to score in the previous six overs. The very next ball, the start of a fresh over from Stokes, Alastair Cook dropped Pandya at first slip. India heaved a sigh of relief.