Nasser Hussain waits for a break in the weather
Nasser Hussain's men beat the weather to capture the last three Indian wickets to lead by 98 on first innings, and had extended their advantage by 33 before the rain returned to end play for the day.
Should an uninterrupted day be possible on Sunday, Hussain faces a difficult task in judging a declaration which would tempt India to do more than simply block out for a draw.
"It's going to be very difficult," acknowledged coach Duncan Fletcher.
"There are only 105 overs to go and we will just have to see when we get to the ground in the morning if we start on time. We will make a decision then."
Whatever the outcome, Fletcher is proud of the effort put in by his players in Bangalore, and in the previous game at Ahmedabad.
"I think we have played well for the whole of this Test, following on from the second Test, and I feel we are in a really dominating position.
"The good thing about this match is that a lot of people might have thought it was a fly-by-night performance in the second Test.
"To see these youngsters come out like they have, their attitude was good and it was encouraging to see that with a big job to do they have gone about doing that job."
Fletcher has defended England bowling tactics against Sachin Tendulkar, whose scoring was restricted by spinner Ashley Giles' persistent policy of bowling outside leg stump.
"On a falt wicket, do you just bowl throw-downs, or do you come up with a plan?
"It's the first time he has been stumped in his Test career so I think it's quite important the way we bowled," he added.