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

• Scorecard

The hosts chose left-arm spinner Brad Hogg [Images] in place of Shaun Tait to accompany a three-pronged pace attack comprising of Brett Lee [Images], Mitchell Johnson 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: Phil Jaques, Matthew Hayden [Images], Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, 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, Sachin Tendulkar [Images], Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh [Images], MS Dhoni [Images], Anil Kumble [Images], Harbhajan Singh [Images], Zaheer Khan [Images], RP Singh