Ahmedabad, Mar. 24 (ANI): Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and opted to bat first in the crucial quarterfinal match against India being played here today at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera.
India received a huge boost ahead of the game with Virender Sehwag being ruled fit after missing the game against West Indies with an inflamed knee.
India dropped Yusuf Pathan and retained Suresh Raina. Australia brought in David Hussey, the middle-order batsman who bowls off breaks, for Steven Smith. Australia chose to retain offspinner Jason Krejza.
Ponting said 250 would be a reasonable score on the dry pitch, but added that he would wait and watch how the pitch played initially before deciding on the right target.
Dhoni, playing his 100th game as captain, said the team was mentally ready for this knockout game.
The teams are as follows: India: 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Gautam Gambhir, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt and wk), 7 Suresh Raina, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 R Ashwin, 11 Munaf Patel.
Australia: 1 Brad Haddin (wk), 2 Shane Watson, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Clarke, 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 David Hussey, 8 Jason Krejza, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Mitchell Johnson, 11 Shaun Tait. (ANI)
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