Indian idolatry was again reserved exclusively for Sachin Tendulkar yesterday but England claimed entitlement to the deepest respect as they finished an enthralling third day with realistic ambitions of levelling a Test series that cold logic suggests should be hopelessly beyond them.

England were indefatigably led in the sapping heat of the Sardar Patel stadium by Ashley Giles, Warwickshire's bulky left-arm spinner, who began the day hoping only that his repaired Achilles and damaged heel would stand up to the constant juddering of a size-14 boot on red earth and completed it by gazing in disbelief upon the best figures of his Test career.

Giles might again have trundled up to the crease like an overflowing wheelie bin but the dodgy wheel stayed intact and not an ounce of rubbish escaped him. His 43.3 overs brought five for 67 and an England first-innings lead of 116 which offers the possibility of victory on a turgid surface hinting at deterioration.

They stretched that to 131 by the close, with all second-innings wickets remaining.

Giles, who had bowled only 17 overs since July, considered it the high point of a career that blossomed in Pakistan and Sri Lanka last winter.

"I was dry in the mouth for the first few overs and I couldn't have imagined I would bowl so well," he said. "The foot felt fine but there was always a risk, especially when you have to bowl more than 40 overs.

"Whenever you are injured there are always doubts about the future. I've had so much physiotherapy that Dean Conway must have spent more time with me in the past year than with his family."

Giles's demolition of the Indian tail - he took the last four wickets - was the final shock for a partisan crowd which had hero-worshipped Tendulkar towards his 27th Test hundred, then abruptly lost interest from the moment that he drove Matthew Hoggard to the juggling Nasser Hussain at mid-on shortly before tea.

Supremely as he played in amassing his outstanding century, Tendulkar's icon status, through no fault of his own, has become so pronounced in India as to have a detrimental effect on his team.

In the afternoon he was all but unstoppable, ridiculing England's previously restrictive packed offside fields by whipping straight balls to the leg side at will; Hoggard, bowling to an eight-one offside field, disappeared through midwicket for 11 in three balls, high-risk shots played with draining authority.

Hussain's captaincy was outstanding, however. He never allowed the game to drift, marshalled his limited bowling resources intelligently and, whenever Tendulkar answered one question, quickly posed him another.

Without Hussain's active mind, England's game of patience on the sub-continent could forever degenerate into unappealing negativity. But Hussain has bolstered a potentially vulnerable bowling attack with clear plans, enthusiastically implemented, and his man management is outstanding. He deserves to be extolled as one of the finest England captains of this or any other age.

Tendulkar, two not out overnight, passed a guarded morning. He refused to be tempted by the seamers' width and he was vexed by Giles' exploitation of the rough outside his leg-stump. The crowd expected supremacy and England calculated that he would be impatient to deliver.

As it was, England's success initially came elsewhere, Hoggard adorning a probing spell by having Rahul Dravid caught at the wicket, poking at a ball that held its line.

That signalled the latest confrontation between Sourav Ganguly and Andrew Flintoff, a Coronation Street soap opera of squabbling Lancastrians. Flintoff offered a curt northern welcome to his erstwhile county team-mate as he walked to the crease, Hussain quickly tossed the ball into his demanding fist, whereupon he had Ganguly caught at slip for five, a feat he obviously regarded as the most delightful prank.

Giles's colossal contribution was essential, for his spin partner Richard Dawson, never allowed to settle by Tendulkar, conceded five runs an over. Dawson's suffering was complete when he dived to cut off a straight drive and was accidentally spiked by VVS Laxman at the non-striker's end, which at least ensured that his spinning finger did not only bleed runs.

Giles took three for one in 16 balls, sharply turning one flighted delivery to strike Anil Kumble's off-stump, drawing Harbhajan Singh into an impatient drive and having Javagal Srinath caught at silly point. After half-an-hour's frustration VVS Laxman's methodical five-hour 75 finally ended on the long-on boundary.

Giles met each congratulatory huddle as if he feared the excitement might make him topple over. But only India had toppled. It was sterling, unexpected stuff.