India finished the second day on 308 for four in 81 overs. They trail West Indies by just three runs, after the visitors were bowled out for 311 earlier in the day.
Rohit Sharma will bat at the top of the innings.
The clean sweep in the T20 series against Australia has lessened their dilemmas but selectors will debate.
Prithvi Shaw's inclusion comes as a fresh lease of life for the explosive batter who found himself out of reckoning in the Ranji Trophy.
Batsman Ajinkya Rahane is expecting the Kanpur wicket to assist the Indian spinners and says the team's performance in the first Test will set the tone for a long home season, comprising 13 five-day games.
Australia's fielders spilled a few chances offered by Ajinkya Rahane as India took a 82-run lead by the end of Day 2 in the second Test.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has described Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a century in each innings of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Ferozshah Kotla, as the most complete Indian batsman in the current team as he has "done well in all conditions".
Ahead of the gruelling five-match Test match series against England, the Indian Test team led by skipper Virat Kohli, had a centre wicket training at the Durhan Cricket Club in Durham on Tuesday.
'If there was some problem, it could have been solved easily.'
Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, both struggling in the Indian Premier League, will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they face each other on Friday.
A Web series Bandon Mein Tha Dum will chronicle the Indian cricket team's historic Test series win in Australia last year.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between Australia and India, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, on Saturday.
Pat Cummins' side stayed in control at the end of Day 2 of the WTC Final.
The Decision Review System will be in focus when India take on England in the upcoming five-Test series and the home team's vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane on Monday said the side has made some plans on how to approach the controversial technology. "It's a completely new concept. We have to wait and see about DRS. We have been discussing about this from the last series (against New Zealand) and we have (formulated) some plans.
It is learnt that Test team vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has been kept on standby for the limited overs series against England in case Rohit Sharma fails to clear the 16.1 qualifying mark.
India ended the fourth day of the Lord's Test on 181 for loss of 6 wickets.
Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane along with the uncapped duo of Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan are in the running for a place in the Indian Test team.
The Indian players of the Delhi Capitals team arrived, in Mumbai, on Thursday, and they will be flying out for United Arab Emirates on Sunday for the league that begins on September 19.
The sub-narratives in the main story will be equally intriguing in the next 13 days.
The South African's blistering 52 off 25 balls not only augurs well for him personally but for the franchise who are aiming to build a team from scratch for the next season.
'Rahane has so much experience, he shared them with us, offered us tips on how to bat'
Not too worried about sledging, stylish batsman Ajinkya Rahane, on Monday said the India team has plans in place for each of the Australian players and would look to play attacking cricket during the four-Test series, starting on Thursday in Pune.
India batter Shreyas Iyer was on Tuesday added to the Mumbai squad for their next Ranji Trophy game against Andhra to be played in Mumbai from January 12-15.
Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane feels that the batsmen will have to show a lot of patience if they are to find success in the upcoming four-Test series against the West Indies.
India's star batters have lost a lot of confidence over the years by playing on rank turners, with their home averages taking a beating and affecting their careers adversely, feels former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
'Rahane led the side brilliantly, bowlers were relentless but the biggest positive is the performance of two debutants. Both of them were confident and not overawed by the big occasion. Strength of Indian cricket is their strong bench strength'
His century in the Perth Test during the 2018-2019 series is rated by many as his finest, which Virat Kohli also acknowledges as his best in Australia.
Rahane to lead India in one-off Test vs Afghanistan
'but in my mind, it was just about going out there and giving myself a few balls and just getting used to the speed of the game again and the atmosphere.'
Shreyas Iyer feels the Mumbai batter can touch the deserved heights if he "gets his work ethics right."
'Off to England for the World Test Championship Final with the one and only Rohit Sharma.'
Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane said that bowlers too should be given credit if the ball hit the wickets but do not dislodge the stumps by declaring it a dead ball.
India's captain Ajinkya Rahane on Monday said the racial abuse faced by his teammates Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj during the third Test against Australia in Sydney is not at all acceptable and should not happen anywhere in the world.
K L Rahul's diving catch was one of the highlights of LSG's fine showing against CSK.
Danish Malewar's gritty 79 and opener Dhruv Shorey's attractive 74 helped Vidarbha reach 308 for 5 against defending champions Mumbai on the first day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final.
India needs to get the team composition right in the third and final Twenty20 International to prevent South Africa from recording a clean sweep, in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane credited his spinners for exploiting the slow pitch to the optimum as India sealed the three-match series against Zimbabwe with a comfortable 62-run win in the second ODI in Harare.
IMAGES from the IPL 2024 match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.
The Indian team appeared in high spirits as they departed Barbados.
The heart stealing moment of the day was pacer Mohammed Siraj gifting his bat and boots to a local bowler.
