Australian captain Ricky Ponting [ Images ] won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against India [ Images ] at the Melbourne [ Images ] Cricket Ground on Wednesday.

• Scorecard

The hosts chose left-arm spinner Brad Hogg [ Images ] in place of Shaun Tait [ Images ] to accompany a three-pronged pace attack comprising of Brett Lee [ Images ], Mitchell Johnson [ Images ] and Stuart Clark.

India have decided to open with Rahul Dravid [ Images ] in the Boxing day match, which marks the 100th Test of Sourav Ganguly [ Images ].

Teams:

Australia [ Images ]: Phil Jaques, Matthew Hayden [ Images ], Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey [ Images ], Michael Clarke [ Images ], Andrew Symonds [ Images ], Adam Gilchrist [ Images ], Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark

India: Wasim Jaffer [ Images ], Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman [ Images ], Sachin Tendulkar [ Images ], Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh [ Images ], MS Dhoni [ Images ], Anil Kumble [ Images ], Harbhajan Singh [ Images ], Zaheer Khan [ Images ], RP Singh [ Images ]