Yuvraj Singh was left out of the team with an injury as Australia won the toss and elected to bat against India in the first ODI in Vadodara on Sunday.
Gautam Gambhir, despite a minor head injury during net practice on Saturday, has been included in the team.
After winning the toss, Ponting said: "It might swing around at the start but I think overall it would help the team that first. There is a good feeling among the group about what we have done in ODIs in the recent times. Niall Ferguson goes out and Adam Voges comes in."
Said Dhoni after the toss: "The top surface looks a bit sticky. The practice sessions were most intense. We are well prepared. Yuvraj is not fit and not playing. Yuvraj, Munaf, Sudeep Tyagi and Amit Mishra are not playing today. We would be playing five day and night games; so dew would be a factor in this series."
The teams:
India:
Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, M S Dhoni (capt), Virat Kohli, Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, P Kumar, Ishant Sharma
Australia:
Shane Watson, Tim Paine, Ricky Ponting (capt), Mike Hussey, Voges, Cameron White, Hopes, Johnson, Brett Lee, Hauritz, Peter Siddle
