11:30: England 172-3 (54 overs): STUMPS! An unbroken partnership of 129 in 40.5 between Strauss (73) and Collingwood (60) sees England lead by 247 runs. To say they are in a good position is like saying Rik Waller is a tad chubby. Join me at 4am tomorrow to see what sort of target they set India.
11:15: England 161-3 (50 overs): Collingwood steers Sehwag through the gully region and he brings up his 50 off 120 balls. England will be 250 up by stumps and India have drifted to 5/1 with the tourists now Even money.
11:00: England 154-3 (46 overs): We go into extra time with England ahead by 229 and looking in great shape. Technically 17 overs remaining unless everyone rides scooters between overs, we are not even going to get half that many.
10:45: England 144-3 (43 overs): Collingwood drives Sharma with some style through the covers and the 100 partnership has come up much to the delight of the Barmy Army. They have probably forgotten now they can't take mobile phones into the ground nor suncream or water and definitely not a cheeky bottle of that 8.5% Kingfisher.
10:30: England 134-3 (41 overs): Dhoni now turns to his joker Virender Sehwag in an attempt to break the partnership only for Strauss to pull him away to the mid-wicket pickets at high speed. "Chasing anything over 300 is Mission Impossible" says Sunil Gavaskar, at least let's hope it's more entertaining than that Tom Cruise brain drain.
10:15: England 124-3 (37 overs): Collingwood goes aerial again and just gets enough purchase to get it over the head of Yuvraj, who is three quarters of the way back at mid-off, and collect four. Mishra has gone for some tap so Dhoni reverts to Seam and the mullet of Sharma.
10:00: England 108-3 (33 overs): Zzzzzwap!! Mishra back into the attack in tandem with Harbhajan and a short delivery begs to be hit. Strauss slaps it through the covers for his fourth boundary to bring up his 15th Test half-century off 90 balls. Then a nice little fandango down the track from Collingwood and he clips the young leggie for a two-bounce boundary.
09:45: England 95-3 (30 overs): Zaheer is getting the ball to reverse but so much it eludes the hobbling Dhoni behind the stumps and goes for four byes down the leg-side. Thanks to rjiak for slagging off the bloke who averages 49.3 in Test cricket but perhaps i4nhart has a point with Bell's average of 41.50 - the lowest now of the England top order.
09:30: England 87-3 (28 overs): The biggest piece of action after tea was Collingwood waving at the people who keep walking behind the bowler's arm like a demented air traffic controller that was until Strauss sweeps Harbhajan hard against the spin to the mid-wicket fence.
09:15: England 73-3 (24 overs): Harbhajan and Zaheer open up after tea but England kick on towards a lead of 150.
09:00: With the speed this game is going, we might all get Monday off to go Christmas shopping. The satchel swingers have India as marginal favourites at the adjournment - 11/10 to England's 11/8. The draw is 7/1 if anyone fancies that cyclone to arrive in the next 48 hours.
08:40: England 68-3 (21 overs): Strauss and Zaheer exchange a few choice words before the tea break which is now. England lead by 143 runs with seven wickets remaining and all to play for. Just time for a quick bag of Twiglets and we will return at 9am.
08:25: England 62-3 (17 overs): Dropped! Strauss gets quite a big edge to Mishra and it's a tough chance for Dhoni, standing up, and the Teflon gives can't snare it. Next ball, the Middlesex left-hander smothers the spin and plays a sweet cover drive. Paul Collingwood has decided to take the attack to the spinners, cutting Yuvraj before lofting Mishra over mid-off for four.
08:10: England 43-3 (14 overs): WICKETS! The wobble is on. Young leg-spinner Mishra came into the attack as early as the ninth over and strikes in his third over. Some extra bounce off a good length top-spinner and Bell coughs one up to Gautam Gambhir at short leg. A double failure from the Sherminator. A big appeal on the third ball that Pietersen faces but he's hit it so it's a waste of good oxygen. But Dhoni throws the ball to part-timer Yuvraj and he strikes with his first ball, hitting the captain in front and it would have taken out middle and leg.
07:55: England 34-1 (11 overs): WICKET! The breakthrough for India through Sharma. A tentative poke from Cook to a delivery that just left him a touch and Dhoni takes a regulation catch behind the stumps. At least Strauss does yield his first four behind square, even through he was trying to leave it, and Ian Bell guides the second ball he faces to the third man fence.
07:40: England 20-0 (8 overs): It took six and a half hours but we have a boundary. Zaheer drops short and Cook has all the time in the world to pull him away with some alacrity to the mid-wicket fence. This seems to be a Sophie Ellis Bextor pitch - it looks a bit odd but actually there is very little wrong with it.
07:25: England 12-0 (6 overs): It's a sundries safari - 50% of the total so far. Three no balls in Sharma's third over. This is what is known in the trade as a passage of play for 'the purists'.
07:10: England 4-0 (3 overs): A very sedate start to the England second innings - the highlight being a bouncer wide called by Bowden. It was so high it probably wouldn't have worried Bruce Reid standing on Robert Wadlow's shoulders.
06:55: Here come Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook. The spread betting firms have England's second innings total at 250-270. If they manage that, they will be odds-on for victory.
06:45: India 241 (69.4 overs): WICKET! Fourth ball after the pies and a full, straight ball from Flintoff disturbs the timber behind Mishra. England lead by 75 on first innings.
06:30: Lunchtime Nerd Fact: The highest total in the fourth innings of a Test in Chennai is 347 by India in the famous tied Test with Australia in 1986.
06:00: India 241-9 (69 overs): An annoying final wicket partnership of 22 means England must come back out after lunch. Jimmy Anderson is given the ball for the final over of the morning - his first of the day - but Ishant Sharma, first-class average of nine, holds firm. 86-3 in the session, India will be happy with that and eliotot you get no credit because you were wrong. I will be back at 6.40am after a head message and a Rik Waller sized cup of coffee.
05:45: India 224-9 (65 overs): WICKETS! No early Christmas presents from Daryl Harper to Zaheer. Flintoff gets one to jag back and it strikes him on the back leg in front of middle - the Aussie umpire lifts the digit, no inside edge there - it just looked out and was. And four balls later Dhoni - who must have been getting twitchy about who he was left with - holes out to Swann at long-off, looking to hit Panesar into the crowd. Maybe a premature decision from the captain as Amit Mishra then crashes a boundary over mid-on.
05:30: India 216-7 (63 overs): WICKET! Finally Panesar makes the breakthrough as Harbhajan looks to work the ball on the on-side only to get an inside edge to a diving Bell at forward short leg. He departs for a well made 40. It should have been two in two, the arm ball strikes Zaheer in front of off-stump but Billy Bowden's detached retina is playing up and he fails to give the decision. Dhoni is now doing a Gordon Greenidge and brings up his 50 off 77 balls before receiving some more treatment.
05:15: India 212-6 (60 overs): MS Dhoni has done himself a mischief, he seems to slip turning for a run and the physio is on to take a look at his ankle. The fourth official has held up the three minutes of added time board but no runner is required. England have got nothing out of the pitch this morning with Graeme Swann now in the attack and Panesar having a change of ends - Kevin Pietersen giving anything a try.
05:00: India 203-6 (58 overs): 200 up for India as Harbhajan takes the Clapham Common approach to batting - flash and flash hard. He collects four with a flailing edge over the slip cordon and then crashes Harmison on the up past cover for his seventh boundary. The partnership is 66 and England have lots to think about at drinks.
04:45: India 191-6 (55 overs): Harmison is out of his bed and into the attack to replace Flintoff who just had a brief burst on the banjo. Big appeal down the leg-side in his first over and apart from the fact that it hit Dhoni's thigh pad and Matt Prior grounded the catch, it was a great shout. Some razzle dazzle from Harbhajan Singh as he conjures up the reverse sweep for his fifth boundary. Jesse Ryder has just missed out on a century in Dunedin which is a shame because I'm sure he would have bought a jug or 12.
04:30: India 181-6 (52 overs): Graham Thorpe said yesterday that England needed to restrict the hosts to no more than 60 this morning and the Indians already have added 26. Harbhajan Singh scored two fifties against the Aussies recently so is not one to be taken lightly but when Monty opts to go over the wicket he gets an inside edge that just eludes Ian Bell at short leg. He follows up however with a sweep to the boundary. In response to your question eliotot, yes every chance.
04:15: India 168-6 (49 overs): Steve Harmison has got a sore knee so has not made it out of the bed this morning while Andrew Flintoff has spent most of evening doing the toilet two-step but is fit enough to the take the new ball with Monty. Panesar opens with a maiden on this track this is looking increasingly worn and then home skipper MS Dhoni guides Freddie past gully for the first boundary of the morning.
04:00: India 155-6 (45 overs): Who works at 4am? Milkmen, lap dancers and online cricket commentators that's who. Cowers back to guide you through day three of the first Test in Chennai. India struggling at 155-6 in reply to England's 316 but still all to play for.