Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the Indian bowlers, getting rid of captain Alastair Cook and Sam Robson before lunch and Ian Bell after the break.
Ballance looked to find the boundary when given width to hit, but was lucky to survive Stuart Binny's second over, when an edge flew between wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and first slip.
He started the middle session alongside Ian Bell aiming to kick on after a testing period before lunch, but lost his partner when Bell was caught by surprise by a ball that jagged in off the pitch, catching him on the glove and looping to Ravindra Jadeja.
Joe Root was just starting to take some initiate when given out lbw to spinner Jadeja despite him getting an inside edge, but Ballance remains steadfast at the crease as he further cements his place at number three in the England order.
The day was somewhat overshadowed by another failure by Cook, who has not passed three figures in over a year, and has now scored 93 runs in six test innings against Sri Lanka and India this season. He looked comfortable at the crease before nibbling at a ball from the accurate Kumar that was well taken by Dhoni behind the stumps.
Fellow opener Robson fell for 17 when he flailed at a ball outside off-stump to give Dhoni another catch off Kumar, having previously been dropped by second slip Ajinkya Rahane.
Earlier India's first innings lasted only ten balls of the morning session before Ben Stokes had Shami caught by Cook, his 100th test catch, with five runs added to the overnight score.
The quick breakthrough was scant consolation for the hosts, who had India at 145 for seven just after tea on Thursday before Rahane (103) combined with the lower order to ensure their bowlers had a total to defend.
The first match of the five-test series at Trent Bridge was drawn.