India in the pink after ideal Test prep against injury-hit Aussies

It's difficult to imagine two more starkly contrasting warm-ups for next week's start of the Vodafone Test Series than those experienced in the current tour game at the SCG.

Preparing for just their second day-night Test match against the mystical properties of the pink ball, India's batters (with the exception of opener Prithvi Shaw) enjoyed a lengthy sighter under natural and artificial light after their bowlers made short work of Australia A's batting.

An unbeaten century for Hanuman Vihari – who seems set to assume skipper Virat Kohli's number three berth after the first Test in Adelaide – plus contributions from Shubman Gill (65), Mayank Agarwal (61) meant India had already achieved what they wanted from the match heading into the last hour.

The cream atop was provided by keeper Rishabh Pant who blasted 22 from Jack Wildermuth's final over of the night to reach a remarkable century (off just 73 deliveries) from the final ball in scenes strikingly dissimilar to Steve Waugh's memorable Ashes ton at the same ground.

Paradoxically, it's been 48 hours of flux for Australia's Test plans with opener-in-waiting Will Pucovski ruled out of the series opener, allrounder Cameron Green under a cloud and seamer Sean Abbott unable to bowl as India's lead reached 472 at stumps.

With Green and Pucovski in the Australia A dressing rooms nursing mild concussion, the sight of Abbott limping from the field at the dinner break stretched credulity as well as resources.

His absence meant former Test opener, now Australia A assistant coach Chris Rogers was forced to don full playing kit (including one of Ben McDermott's spare shirts) in case a fourth substitute fielder was required.

Rogers admitted he has not played competitive cricket since 2016, but so threadbare was the team's playing stocks he spent the remainder of India's innings on the bench and ready to go as Abbott joined the casualties in the dressing room.

While Abbott is considered a long shot for a Test debut despite being part of Australia's initial 17-man squad, the decision to send him for scans during the break was made with an eye to the upcoming Vodafone Series as well as dwindling personnel.

When the 28-year-old returned to the SCG he was demonstrably favouring his left leg in which he reported calf tightness, and while no tear was identified he was sidelined from bowling for the remainder of the match though he will bat if the game demands.

Green's prognosis was also positive, with Cricket Australia team doctor Pip Inge reporting earlier today "Cameron has shown clinical improvement overnight and is symptomatically better than yesterday", adding he would continue to be monitored ahead of the Test.

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting claimed today that Green's fitness, or otherwise, could feasibly have a significant impact on Australia's line-up for the opening Test, particularly in the make-up of their opening combination.

Ponting suggested the national selectors "would have to be worried" about Burns' form but added he expected the panel to deploy Burns and Marcus Harris against the new ball if Green's injury prevents him from making a much-anticipated debut.

"I would think if Green can't play then Burns probably stays in," Ponting said during Channel Seven's KFC BBL coverage of Perth Scorchers against Melbourne Renegades.

"If Green is fit then they've got a really big decision to make, I believe.

"I would be looking to make as minimal change as I could to the XI, and even to the batting order.

"So I'm suggesting that someone like a Matthew Wade or someone like that might potentially go up and open the batting."

Burns was at least spared the anxiety of facing India's new-ball bowlers under lights as the tourists opted to bat through today's final session, and will likely be able to begin his final pre-Test innings in daylight tomorrow in pursuit of a dauntingly distant target.

A pursuit Australia A will tackle minus in-form batter Green, while Abbott's input will likely be limited.

But the casualty count in their A dressing room had grown even before play resumed on day two.

Fast bowler Harry Conway was substituted out of the match with concussion, having been struck by a bouncer in what proved to be the penultimate over of the previous evening.

Batting at No.11, as the clock ticked beyond 10.30pm and with the pink ball barely 30 overs old and in the hands of rival seamers Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj, Conway was peppered with a series of short balls.

One of those crashed into the tailender's shoulder before thudding into the grille of his protective helmet, at which point Conway immediately signalled to the rooms for what initially appeared to be a change of batting gloves.

But he then spent some time on his haunches as he sucked in deep breaths, and seemed disoriented after turning for a second run that saw him stranded several metres out of his crease as the Australia A innings finished at 108 on the stroke of stumps.

Shortly before today's resumption, Conway was ruled out of the match with concussion and replaced by Queenslander Mark Steketee who opened the bowling with Abbott.

Having claimed five wickets in the Indians second innings of the prior tour match at Drummoyne Oval earlier this week, Steketee struck an early blow when he removed India's likely Test opener Shaw (3) in his opening over.

Shaw slapped a short ball straight to point after scoring a breezy 40 (from 29 balls) in the first innings, but any hope of his removal triggering a similar batting collapse to day one was dispelled as Australia A's injury toll mounted.

Initially, it was Steketee who left the field at the completion of his fourth as the team's second emergency fielder Todd Murphy joined his former Australia under-19 teammate Patrick Rowe (concussion substitute for Green) on the field for their maiden first-class appearances.

His absence was but a handful of overs, but by the time he returned Gill had found his range and settled into the aggressor role filled by Shaw on day one.

The 21-year-old, who averages almost 70 across his three-year first-class career, was elegantly brutal as he cruised to a half-century from just 49 balls faced, an innings that included nine boundaries.

Eyeing a Test debut after skipper Kohli returns to India for the birth of his first child after next week's opening Vodafone Series match at Adelaide, Gill also might have been musing the tour game's maiden hundred as he posted the fixture's highest score.

But on 65 he was beaten by a delivery from leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson that skidded on to him, and thumped into the right-hander's thigh pad before it flew to slip where Abbott claimed it moving sharply to his right.

Swepson's appeal for lbw was launched before the ball settled in Abbott's outstretched claw, and Gill seemed unimpressed when the shout was upheld albeit for a catch he believed had not made contact with his bat.

When Gill departed, Shaw's likely Test opening partner Agarwal stepped seamlessly into the role of dominant batter in his 53-run stand with Vihari.

Agarwal didn't play the first tour game, as he was part of India's limited-overs squad involved in the final game of the Dettol T20 Series, and missed out in the first innings when he was dismissed for two.

After a measured start he found his timing, which ultimately cost him his wicket when he looked to lift Jack Wildermuth over the in-field but made such clear contact the ball flew into the hands of Rowe at deep point.

However, India will be heartened by the performance of their top-order in the day-night conditions with which they've had limited previous experience.

Half-centuries to Agarwal, Gill and Vihari coupled with 38 to acting captain Ajinkya Rahane, who posted a century at Drummoyne, mean the tourists boast form heading to Adelaide with Kohli and Test mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara to return to the starting XI.

And the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed this evening that big-hitting opener Rohit Sharma has been passed fit to travel to Australia having recovered from a "high-grade hamstring injury".

However, Rohit – who will be required to serve two weeks in strict hotel quarantine upon arriving in Australia – has been put on notice that he must undertake a detailed fitness program while in isolation.

"The NCA (National Cricket Academy) medical team was satisfied with the physical fitness of Mr Sharma after assessing him on different metrics that tested his skills related to batting, fielding and running between the wickets," the BCCI said in a statement.

"Mr Sharma’s physical fitness has been satisfactory, however, he will be required to continue work on his endurance."

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

First Test: December 17-21, Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (day-night)

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG, 10.30am AEDT

Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT