After the proceedings began with light warm-up and catching, the action shifted to the nets where all batters had long stints in the nets while the other pace bowlers too put in the hard yards.
Devdutt Padikkal and Ravichandran Smaran starred with the bat, guiding Karnataka to a five-wicket win over Haryana in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semi-final.
Shubman Gill might just want to be fit enough to bat, as even a half-fit skipper is seen as more effective than Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sarfaraz Khan.
Rishabh Pant was ruled out for nearly three months after he fractured his foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
With no foreign tours for the next one year, Easwaran's Test debut looks unlikely with N Jagadeesan being looked at as a potential third opener.
'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
The Indian team management has decided to retain Devdutt Padikkal, who was part of the India A team, as a backup for the senior team in Australia.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage matches.
Dhruv Jurel slammed a century to lead India A's strong fightback on Day 3 of the rain-hit first unofficial Test against Australia A in Lucknow on Friday.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
Abhimanyu Easwaran made the future path all the more tough with his second duck of the match, while Sai Sudharsan concluded his lukewarm preparation for the South Africa Test series with an underwhelming 23 off 38 balls.
Narayan Jagadeesan blended caution with aggression in right proportions during his undefeated knock of 148 as South Zone were comfortably placed at 297 for three against North Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal at the BCCI-CEG ground in Bengaluru on Thursday.
It was also his third hundred in the last seven innings after going past three digits against Australia A at Lucknow and the West Indies at Ahmedabad.
The series promises a fascinating duel between the two modern-day pace greats.
Saurashtra will be bolstered by the presence of India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja against a strong Madhya Pradesh i the second round of Ranji Trophy.
Asked about it at a media interaction in Dubai, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar clarified: 'He is injured.'
'Sometimes it might look wrong in the fans' eyes, but please don't twist things or create narratives that aren't even close to the truth.'
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
Pant's gritty fifty keeps India A together in chase of 275
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
Padikkal, who made his Test debut against England earlier this year, will turn up for Team D in the Duleep Trophy, starting from September 5.
India's Test stars flopped with the bat as the hosts folded for a lowly 194 in 52.5 overs in their first innings, on Day 2 of the unofficial second Test against Australia A.
After bowling out SA A for 309, overnight 299/9, in the first session, India succumbed to their own waywardness, and the relentlessness of off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen (5/61), to concede an innings lead of 75.
Karnataka on Tuesday named internationals K L Rahul, Prasidh Krishna, and Karun Nair in the probables list for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season.
Scoring a career-best 193 in the season opener against Punjab, Padikkal has been a prolific run-scorer, amassing 556 runs in six innings at an average of 92.66. His newfound consistency includes three centuries, showcasing his ability to bounce back from adversity.
K L Rahul made a solid 74 before retiring hurt as India remained on course to chase a formidable 412-run target set by Australia A on day three of the second unofficial Test in Lucknow on Thursday.
'So make sure first you pick the right characters and then if you see that, try and give them a longer run so that they themselves should be content and happy that they've got a longer run rather than just chopping and changing as well.'
Captain Shreyas Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal struck half-centuries to help India D stretch their lead against India C on the second day of their Duleep Trophy match.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
There is a school of thought that having done the hard yards in the England series, Karun Nair deserves an opportunity against a weaker opposition where a century could boost his career.
The short turnaround time from the high of winning a controversy-marred Asia Cup notwithstanding, Shubman Gill's India will be outright favourites against a struggling and under-strength West Indies when the teams face-off on a green-top in the first Test in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
India A captain Shreyas Iyer has pulled out of the second unofficial Test against Australia A starting in Lucknow on Tuesday because of personal reasons.
Skipper Shubman Gill had a long batting stint while the troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel returned to action for India's final training session here on Wednesday before the first Test against the West Indies.
N Jagadeesan hit an unbeaten half-century to lead India A' confident reply in Australia A's huge first innings total on Day 2 of the first unofficial Test.
The final Test begins on Friday in New Delhi, and the Shubman Gill-led side is expected to maintain their winning combination as they look to wrap up the home series.
The last time India fielded five or more debutants in a Test series was during the 1996 tour of England when current Head Coach Rahul Dravid, Batting Coach Vikram Rathour, Bowling Coach Paras Mhambrey all made their debuts along with Sourav Ganguly, Venkatesh Prasad and Sunil Joshi.
India wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who played in the fifth and final Test at The Oval against England in their last assignment, has been named Iyer's deputy.
Padikkal made a classy 65, including 10 fours and a six. His play on the off-side oozed elegance associated with left-handers.
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