Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
Skipper Gautam Gambhir led from the front with two half-centuries in the initial phase and when he failed to contribute, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey have stepped up to do the bulk of scoring.
Sunrisers Hyderabad stand in the way of two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders, who would be looking to bring their campaign back on track at home during an Indian Premier League T20 cricket clash, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
The visitors won the first two matches of the series in Durban and Centurion by six and nine wickets, respectively, dismantling the home side with consummate ease.
All the Indian batsmen and bowlers will get a look in and skipper Virat Kohli is expected to decide his best possible combination for the playing eleven for the first Test depending on their performances in the coming two days.
How do India and Australia's teams stack up? Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
Rashid Khan dismissed Ravindra Jadeja in the final over as Afghanistan pulled off a thrilling tie against India in a Super Four match of the Asia Cup in Dubai on Tuesday.
The Australians are struggling against India's new spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal and the hosts would like to ensure that it doesn't get any easy as the series progresses.
'We were certainly expecting that it would be tough. But what we didn't quite expect coming into the tournament was the large variety of conditions that we faced'
Factbox on the four-Test series between Australia and India, which begins on Thursday
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