Aussies win toss, elect to bat first

Bangalore, Oct 9 (UNI) Australia won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening match of the four-Test series against India which began at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here today.

Playing two spinners, India decided to exclude Munaf Patel, R P Singh and Amit Mishra from the playing eleven, while S Badrinath will be the 12th man.

Australia, who opted for leg-spinner Cameron White as their lone spinner, excluded Doug Bollinger, Philip Jaques and Peter Siddle from their playing eleven. Jason Kreja will be the 12th man.

The teams: India: Anil Kumble (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, M S Dhoni (wk), Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan. 12th man: S Badrinath.

Coach: Gary Kirsten.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke (vice capt), Brad Haddin (wk), Cameron White, Shane Watson, Bret Lee, Stuart Clark and Michell Johnson.

12th Man: Jason Krejza.

Coach: Tin Nielsen.

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