India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images] won the toss and elected to bat in the Twenty20 international against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

- Scorecard

World champions India have rested Sachin Tendulkar [Images] from their side for the one-off contest.

Michael Clarke [Images] will lead Australia for the second time after Ricky Ponting [Images] was ruled out earlier on Friday, the regular captain opting to rest a back injury before the triangular one-day series begins in Brisbane on Sunday.

Sri Lanka [Images] are the other side involved in the Tri-Series.

Batsman David Hussey is making his international debut for Australia.

Australia: Michael Clarke (captain), Adam Gilchrist [Images], Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey, Andrew Symonds [Images], Adam Voges, David Hussey, James Hopes, Ashley Nofke, Brett Lee [Images], Nathan Bracken [Images].

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag [Images], Gautam Gambhir [Images], Dinesh Karthik [Images], Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan [Images], Pravin Kumar, Harbhajan Singh [Images], Shanthakumaran Sreesanth [Images], Ishant Sharma.