Dhoni has been under tremendous pressure after the back-to-back defeats in Mumbai and Kolkata and he showed great character to rise to the occasion with his resolute effort in difficult batting conditions to bail the team out of trouble.
With two days left in the game, India will seek to take a decent first innings lead and put pressure on England who need only a draw to record their first series triumph on Indian soul in 28 years.
Spinner Graeme Swann broke the marathon partnership when he trapped Kohli leg before while debutant Ravindra Jadeja (12) and Chawla (1) fell soon after to peg India back a little bit by the end of the day.
Image: Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni in action on the third day of the fourth cricket test match against England in Nagpur on Saturday