Australia bat against India as Sehwag returns

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Zaheer Khan celebrates after dismissing Australia's Mike Hussey- AP

Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat against India in a World Cup quarter-final at the Sardar Patel Stadium on Thursday.

India made one change from the side that beat the West Indies by 80 runs in their final group match in Chennai with opener Virender Sehwag fit after recovering from an allergic reaction to a painkilling injection in his knee.

Sehwag replaced dropped all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, with Suresh Raina retaining his place.

Australia, bidding for a fourth successive World Cup title and fifth in all, made one change from the side that lost to Pakistan by four wickets — a defeat that ended their 34-match unbeaten run at the tournament dating back to 1999.

Leg-spinning all-rounder Steven Smith was dropped and his place was taken by David Hussey, a batsman and handy occasional off-spinner.

India's Sachin Tendulkar came into this match needing just one more century to become the first player to score a hundred international hundreds.

The winners of this match will play Pakistan, who thrashed the West Indies by 10 wickets in Dhaka on Wednesday, in a semi-final in Mohali on March 30.

Their last World Cup meeting was in the 2003 final when Australia beat India by 125 runs in Johannesburg, with Ponting making a match-winning 140 not out.

India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wkt), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel

Australia: Brad Haddin (wkt), Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait

Umpires: Marais Erasmus (RSA) and Ian Gould (ENG)

TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

Pitch conditions: Usually proves an excellent batting surface but could also offer turn, in which case India's spinners will be expected to have an edge.