Prithvi Shaw sidelined

Drama hit the India camp on day three when prodigal opener Prithvi Shaw suffered ligament damage in his left ankle attempting a catch in the deep. Vision of Shaw's foot and leg at right angles is difficult to watch as the 19-year-old was chaired from the field, taken for x-rays and put in a moon boot. India confirmed Shaw has been ruled out of next week's first Domain Test and is undergoing extensive rehab in a bid to be fit for the second Test in Perth from December 14. Shaw was a lock for Adelaide but his opening partner was not, which made India's second innings very interesting…

India have good back-up options to open

With Shaw out, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay opened the batting in India's second dig. The pair were thought to be competing for the same spot, with incumbent Rahul the frontrunner to partner Shaw in Adelaide. But with the youngster out, veteran Vijay looks set to return to the Test XI for the first time since being dropped after recording a pair against England at Lord's in August. Both openers boast Test hundreds in Australia and have batted 25 times together at Test level but at an average of 24.80 runs per stand with just the one century partnership. Rahul made three in the first innings but alongside Vijay he scored 62 from 98 balls in the second innings in a 109-run opening stand. But while Rahul was solid, his senior partner Vijay seized his opportunity, winding back the clock to thrash his way to an entertaining 129, including taking 26 off a single over from off-spinner Jake Carder to get there. He continued to blaze away until his dismissal prompted the end of the match. For India, their batting concerns look to end at the top…

India's middle order is in fine touch

While the opening problem seems to have a stop-gap solution, India's engine room looks to be firing on all cylinders. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari all made half-centuries in the first innings, while Vihari spent more time in the middle on Saturday. The middle-order looked largely untroubled against the CA XI attack on what was a fairly batter-friendly SCG pitch. It bodes well for the tourists and will sharpen the minds of Australia's Test attack, who have the task of taking 20 Indian wickets in each of the four Tests this summer. While the batters were the best performers for the visitors, it was a couple of youngsters who impressed for the hosts…

Aussie young guns are no pushovers

The standard of the Cricket Australia XI may have been questioned leading into the match, running concurrently with a round of JLT Sheffield Shield cricket, but for the players involved they had a job to do and an opportunity to showcase their skills against international opposition. Aaron Hardie and Harry Nielsen took that chance as the top performers for the hosts. Allrounder Hardie, who plays club cricket with suspended Test batter Cameron Bancroft in Perth, collected 4-50 and affected a run out in India's first innings on day two, including the prized wicket of Kohli. He backed up that effort with the bat, hitting a well-made 86 at No.8 across Friday and Saturday, striking 10 fours and a six. The right-hander was involved in a 179-run stand with Nielsen, the South Australian gloveman and son of former Australia coach Tim Nielsen, who made an even hundred. Nielsen was composed and looked every bit a top-order batter against a maligned Indian bowling attack that conceded 544, but the wicketkeeper-batter's stay ended in inglorious fashion…

Kohli loves a wicket celebration

If you want something done properly, do it yourself. That's (probably) what Kohli was thinking when he sent down three overs on day three before having another trundle on Saturday morning and collecting Nielsen's wicket. It wasn't the prettiest dismissal – a long-hop that Nielsen skied to Umesh Yadav at mid-on – but there are no descriptions in the scorebook. Kohli has taken just eight wickets in international cricket (four in ODIs, four in T20Is) and looked a little embarrassed to take Nielsen's wicket before celebrating with mock gusto as he brought out the double fist pump and celebrated as if he'd claimed the final scalp of a hat-trick, much to the amusement of his teammates and YouTube viewers.