Nathan Lyon took the key wickets of England's Joe Root and Harry Brook on the fourth day of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, with both batsmen falling just short of half-centuries.
England were 155-5 in their second innings at lunch on Monday, a lead of 162 runs.
Root, who made an unbeaten 118 in England's first innings 393-8 declared, fell for 46 when he attempted to charge Lyon but he missed the ball and was stumped by Alex Carey.
And the experienced off-spinner, nearing 500 Test wickets, had Brook caught for the same score by a diving Marnus Labuschagne at midwicket, on his way to figures of 2-34 in nine overs.
It appeared the match had firmly tilted Australia's way when Jonny Bairstow, who made a run-a-ball 78 in England's first innings, was given out lbw for just one to Scott Boland just before lunch.
But England's review revealed the ball would have cleared leg stump and Bairstow survived, with skipper Ben Stokes 13 not out.
Only three teams have made more than 200 to win in the fourth innings of a Test at Edgbaston, with the highest such total England's 378-3 against India last year.
England resumed on 28-2 after openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley had been dismissed in the best bowling conditions of the match during a rain-interrupted third day. Both Ollie Pope and Root had yet to get off the mark.
But the sunny skies at Edgbaston suggested there would be less movement for Australia's pacemen on a pitch labelled "soulless" by England seamer Stuart Broad.
Root signalled his intentions -- and underlined England's aggressive 'Bazball' approach -- from the very first delivery, when he failed to make contact with an audacious reverse scoop off Australia captain Pat Cummins, the ball just missing his off stump.
He scored his first run in more conventional fashion when he clipped Cummins off his pads for a single.
The former England skipper then demonstrated the range of his strokeplay in two balls from Scott Boland in the next over.
A classical legside clip for four was followed by a spectacular reverse ramp for six that soared over the head of wicketkeeper Carey, standing up to the stumps.
But Cummins hit back when he bowled Pope (14) with a near-unplayable thunderbolt yorker that left England 77-3.
Lyon made the crucial breakthrough when the advancing Root slogged and missed, with Carey completing a neat legside dismissal as the star batsman, who faced just 55 balls, was stumped for the first time in his 240 Test innings.
Australia were then rewarded for keeping Brook tied down for a few overs when he miscued a sweep off Lyon to Labuschagne to end a 52-ball stay.