India Opt to Bats; Both Teams Retained Same Squad

Sydney: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

India have retained the same playing eleven while the hosts have also decided to field the same team that did duty in Melbourne, which means Nathan Lyon will get another opportunity to prove his worth.

Australia's bowling attack of James Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus will be keen to bowl at the Indian top order in the bright sunshine while the green tinge remains on the wicket.

India would aim to draw level as their fine past record at the SCG, which will incidentally host its 100th Test, should give the Indians the confidence that was dented by the thrashing at Melbourne.

The 122-run loss in the opening Test in Melbourne was demoralising but the Indians have a reputation of being bad starters on tours before bouncing back.

And India would be aiming for another one of those turnarounds at the SCG, hoping that veteran Sachin Tendulkar gets his eagerly-anticipated but elusive 100th international century to lead the way.

Australia doesn't intend to depart from the tested theory of aggressive bowling in seaming, helpful bowling conditions which served England so brilliantly this summer and is likely to yield rich dividends to Michael Clarke's men this time around.

The pitch at the SCG these days is vastly different from its traditional sub-continent like surface. Spinners have taken only 12 of the 57 wickets in domestic competition at the SCG this summer.

Teams:

Australia: David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (captain), Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Nathan Lyon.

India: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav.