Mumbai, Oct. 27: In the last two days, India have gone from being struggling unit to strong contenders for the second one-dayer, this time under lights, in Nagpur on Wednesday. For their part, the Australians go into the match depleted after losing two of their players and another on the ‘doubtful’ list.

After James Hopes was ruled out of the match on Monday, Australia suffered another setback on match eve when Lee pulled out of the fixture while a question mark still hangs over Mitchell Johnson’s availability. With three players added to the injury list, skipper Ricky Ponting will have to select his playing XI from minimum resources available.

Add to that, they arrived for the seven match series having already lost four key players — vice-captain Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Calum Ferguson and fast bowler Nathan Bracken — to injuries. Not a good sign for the Aussies.

What will be a matter of concern for Ponting is that all the three players injured in the touring party are key bowlers and were apart of Australia’s win in the first one-dayer.

In Baroda, Australia nearly went down while defending 294, as Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar during their eighth-wicket stand gave them some anxious moment before falling short by four runs.

Things could be tight here for Ponting, if Johnson is also ruled out of the match. Coach Tim Nielsen however, was hopeful Johnson might play, after his left ankle seemed to be improving.

Peter Siddle, who conceded just four runs in the last over in Baroda with India needed nine for victory, will spearhead the Aussie attack. Siddle himself is new to international cricket, having played just nine ODI matches so far and the bowlers expected to partner him in Nagpur — Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger — have only 16 matches between them. As for Hopes’ replacement, batsman Shaun Marsh is likely to fill in for the all-rounder.

For India though, the injuries in the rival camp couldn’t have come at a better time. With two key batsmen, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, coming back from injuries and a struggling middle-order, facing a raw bowling attack is not a bad option.

However, it’s the return of Yuvraj from a finger injury that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be eagerly looking forward to. A fit Yuvraj brings three components in his game and can be lethal in home conditions. His presence in the middle order was what India have been missing since the Champions Trophy in September.

Dhoni was tight-lipped about who Yuvraj would replace in the playing XI but it could be a toss-up between Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. Though, Jadeja has the advantage as he also lends balance to the team with his left-arm spin.

The skipper will also be forced to examine the possibility of bringing in Munaf Patel in place of Praveen Kumar. The Uttar Pradesh bowler thrives in seaming conditions, while possessing the exceptional knack of swinging the ball both ways. But on dry pitches in India, specifically made to produce high-scoring matches, Praveen can be bit of a burden. Talking about pitches, the one at Vidarbha Cricket Association is a typical Indian wicket and it could haunt Ponting while thinking of putting up an untested bowling attack against the hungry Indian batsmen desperate to score runs.

Teams

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Peter Siddle, Adam Voges, Shane Watson and Cameron White.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.