India and australia’s batting line-ups will be boosted by the return of Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting, who have been declared fit. Both had been ruled out because of hamstring injuries and while Ganguly was declared unfit only for the Kochi one-dayer, Ponting is yet to mark his presence in this series.

India’s team manager Lalchand Rajput confirmed that Ganguly was fit and added that the left-hander would be “available for the match” to be played on Friday.

Similarly, Australian media manager Philip Pope too said that “Ponting should be available for selection.”

Both players were at Thursday’s net sessions and while Ganguly spent a good 30 minutes knocking the ball, Ponting was busy loosening himself after a relatively longer break.

The Australian team has received a further boost with the arrival of Nathan Bracken. Bracken arrived late on Tuesday night and was with the team during their practice session. However, whether the left-arm medium-pacer will replace either Brett Lee or Mitchell Johnson wasn’t confirmed.

India too haven’t decided on who to rest so that Ganguly finds a place. Robin Uthappa, who replaced Ganguly in the Kochi one-dayer, fired a 30-ball 41 which now suggests that Gautam Gambhir, out for just seven in the last match, might sit out.

India’s biggest problem, though, happens to be the fact that two off-spinners in the team haven’t helped their cause. Ramesh Powar and Harbhajan Singh, both gave away runs at close to seven and six runs per over, respectively, but more than that have not offered a variety to the attack.

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