A well-crafted 191 from Rahul Dravid has left India well-placed to chase down victory in the third and decisive Test against New Zealand in Nagpur.
Having reached 69 on day two, Dravid pushed on to help India from 292-2 to 566-8 declared and a first innings lead of 373 over the tourists.
He was ably assisted by captain Mahendra Dhoni, who scored 98.
Harbhajan Singh had opener Tim McIntosh trapped lbw in the final session to leave New Zealand 24-1 at the close.
It leaves the tourists still a daunting 349 runs behind with two days still to play.
Dravid is largely to thank for this, standing tall to amass his 31st Test century and then move to within nine runs of what would have been a sixth Test double-century when he holed out to Martin Guptill at long-off from the bowling of part-time off-spinner Kane Williamson.
The 37-year-old believes it is vital for his side to claim early wickets tomorrow morning if they are to capitalise on their dominant position.
"The key in this game, as we saw this morning, is that you have got to make an impact while the ball is hard and new," Dravid told New Cricket channel.
"Tomorrow's morning session is going to be really important. The ball is still hard and if we have a few quick wickets early then we can put a lot of pressure on them."
Earlier in the day, Tendulkar added just four to his overnight total of 57 before he was caught behind off the bowling of Andy McKay.
The hosts also lost VVS Laxman and Suresh Raina cheaply, but Dhoni stood firm to record a sixth-wicket stand of 193 with Dravid before the skipper gifted a return catch to Daniel Vettori, who finished with 3 for 178 from 58 overs.
"It was really important from the team's perspective and it helped me as well," said Dravid of Dhoni's innings. "He (Dhoni) took the pressure away from me by scoring quickly.
"We had just lost three wickets in the morning and it was nice to see him play positively."
India declared shortly after Dravid's dismissal, giving them 13 overs to make inroads into the New Zealand batting.
They struck just once when a flatter delivery from spinner Harbhajan trapped McIntosh in front, to leave the tourists with a mountain to climb if they are to avoid losing the three-match series.
The previous two Tests, in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, were drawn.
