Ashwin trumps Lillee, India take control

India's bowlers led by spinner Ravichandran Ashwin tightened the noose on Bangladesh as the visitors struggled for survival in their pursuit of a daunting 459 on the fourth day of the one-off Test in Hyderabad.

The visitors were precariously placed on 3-103 at stumps, needing to survive three more sessions for a draw. Mahmudullah on nine and Shakib Al Hasan on 21 will resume on the fifth morning.

Ashwin, who became the fastest bowler to claim 250 Test wickets during Bangladesh's first innings earlier in the day, struck twice in the visitors' chase to take his wickets tally to 252 in his 45th match.

Ashwin achieved his 250th wicket in just his 45th Test, beating the previous mark of 48 set by Australian pace legend Dennis Lillee.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja joined forces with Ashwin to dismiss a fighting Soumya Sarkar for 42 and end his 60-run stand second-wicket stand with Mominul Haque (27).

Haque himself went four runs later before the left-right batting combination of Mahmudullah and Shakib then put on 28 runs to play out the rest of the session.

India need just seven wickets to seal the game while the visitors must score another 356 to win.

Cheteshwar Pujara earlier hit a brisk half-century as the hosts declared their second innings on 4-159 at tea.

India, who started their innings with a lead of 299 after bowling out Bangladesh for 388 in the morning session, lost two early wickets but Pujara (54) and skipper Virat Kohli (38) put on 67.

Shakib's left-arm spin checked India's surge with two wickets including that of Kohli, who gave a catch to mid-wicket in his search for boundaries.

But Pujara continued to cart the bowlers to all parts of the ground, smashing six fours and a six during his 58-ball stay.

Earlier, Ashwin had raced to his 250th scalp after dismissing Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim for 127 - the final wicket of the first innings.

Rahim had led Bangladesh's resistance for nearly three sessions before falling foul of 30-year-old Ashwin, who has so far claimed 59 wickets in the current season.

Ninth-ranked Bangladesh are playing their first Test on Indian soil.

Fastest to 250 Test wickets

• Ravichandran Ashwin (India) - 45 Tests
• Dennis Lillee (Australia) - 48 Tests
• Dale Steyn (Soouth Africa) - 49 Tests
• Allan Donald (South Africa) - 50 Tests
• Waqar Younis (Pakistan) - 51 Tests
• Muthiah Muralidaran (Sri Lanka) - 51 Tests