Young Indian team keen to prove a point

Brisbane: Battered in the Twenty20 game in Melbourne, India's young guns will have to quickly bounce back in the opening game of the One-Day tri-series in Australia.

Sachin Tendulkar's return to the side will bolster the Indian batting line-up, but Australia are still concerned about the fitness of captain Ricky Ponting and opener Matthew Hayden.

The picturesque Gabba ground is the first venue of the last, and thus historic, tri-series Down Under. It's a pitch known for good bounce and seam movement, tailored to test the skills of the young Indian batting line-up which failed to impress any one at Melbourne on Saturday night but Ricky Ponting and his men are going to take nothing for granted.

"Here at the Gabba, it is probably one of the best One-Day wickets in the country. Probably there is more pace and bounce in this one than what the Indians have experienced in Perth and Adelaide. Both teams coming in this game are pretty cold as far as these sort of conditions are concerned. Certainly, we won't be underestimating the Indian batsmen because of their lack of preparation," said Australian skipper Ricky Ponting.

Cramped scheduling and inconsistent weather has consistently hampred India's preprations on this tour. Brisbane was no different and the Indian team could only manage a fielding session.

In the playing XI only Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar has the experience of playing in these conditions but the team is hoping that hard work will make up for the lack of experience.

"Australia is always a tough tour. Any team coming here, the hosts don't make it too easy for them and the boys realise that. And with Sehwag and Sachin's experience they can grow and can do well. Its a hard-working team, its a young team, there is a lot of aggression. And I am sure they are going to do well," said Indian team vice-capatin Yuvraj Singh.

The debate on India's One-Day team selection is still on and the Aussies hardly miss a chance when it comes to mind-games.

"I think they (India) had laid their cards on the table when they selected this squad, looking at the youth and looking to the future a little bit. But there is Sachin and Sehwag and then there is Yuvraj but at the same time I am a bit surprised not to see Ganguly in the line-up. I thought he really played well against us in India and he looked pretty good there," said Ponting.

In the first encounter in Melbourne young Indians got a fair idea about their future challenges. It will be interesting to see how many boys will turn into men in this coming month. Higher the number, better the chance of India doing well on this tour.

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