India inched closer to a superb win after reducing Australia to 187/7 in their chase of 323 at lunch on the final day of the opening Test at the Adelaide Oval here on Monday.

India batted steadily in their second innings to take the upper hand at lunch on the fourth day of the first cricket Test against Australia here on Sunday.

India gained a slender 15-run first innings lead after dismissing Australia for 235 in a truncated first session of Day 3 of the opening Test at the Adelaide Oval here on Saturday.

Travis Head's fighting 61 off 149 balls helped Australia reach 191/7 at stumps on Friday, the second day of the first test against India, after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took three top-order wickets and helped the visitors dominate the day's play.

Cheteshwar Pujara fought his way to a gritty century even as familiar batting woes on foreign soil left India struggling at 250/9 on the opening day of the first cricket Test against Australia here on Thursday.

India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat against Australia in the first test of the four-match series at the Adelaide Oval here on Thursday.

All set to play his first Test series against Australia, Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah came up with a delivery that will caution team Australia for the upcoming matches.

In a major blow to the Test series preparations, India's promising opening batsman Prithvi Shaw suffered an injury in the warm up game against Cricket Australia (CA) XI at the Sydney Cricket Ground here on Friday.

India will be eyeing for a perfect start to their two-month long Australia tour with the first T20 International contest between the two sides coming up at the Gabba here on Wednesday.

India's head coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday said all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be missed during the tough Australian tour starting from Wednesday as he provides proper balance to the side.