Confident Dhoni faces test of character

Bangalore, Sep 28 (UNI) Fresh from the Twenty-20 World Cup triumph the M S Dhoni led team India take on formidable Australia in the seven ODI series at home beginning here tomorrow with high expectations.

Leading the team for the first time on the home soil Dhoni was an epitome of confidence when he said that the team was a ''winning combination'' with the added strength of the big three --Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly-- besides spinner Harbajan Singh.

However, wounded from the Semifinal loss against India in the T20 World Cup, the Aussies aim to play a psychological game against the home team, banking on their past performance at the soil and the highly successful rate they enjoyu in the ODIs.

Confidence notwithstanding, the visitors are dogged with injuries with Skipper Ricky Ponting not expected to play in tomorrow's match.

Australia's build up for the series suffered further setbacks after it lost key players Mike Hussey (who would be missing the initial matches) and Shane Watson, apart from Ponting due to injuries. Earlier their promising fast bowler Shaun Tait was excluded from the squad due to injury, while another speedster Nathan Bracken would come in later as he was in Australia for his first child's birth.

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