Injury doubts over captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and explosive batsman Yuvraj Singh hit India's preparations ahead of the first one-dayer against Australia here Sunday. Dhoni limped off the ground after hurting his left knee during practice Friday while Yuvraj was yet to recover fully from a finger injury that kept him out of the Champions Trophy in South Africa in September-October. Dhoni stopped short of ruling out Yuvraj for the opening game while also refusing to confirm his availability. “I am feeling a lot better now but I will see how it goes on the morning of the match,” Dhoni told a pre-match media conference Saturday. “As for Yuvraj, all I can say is that he will surely be available for the second match,” he said. “Most guys are carrying small niggles but there is nothing major. “You can't do much when someone gets injured while batting or bowling during practice sessions, which are so intense.” The injuries increase the home team's troubles, who went out in the first-round of the Champions Trophy. Dhoni is the only specialist wicketkeeper in the 15-member Indian squad with the selectors opting to leave aside Dinesh Karthik, who was the back up keeper for the Champions Trophy. India will however be strengthened by the return of aggressive opener Virender Sehwag, who missed the action in South Africa with a shoulder injury. Australia, in prime form after winning a second successive Champions Trophy, has also been hit by injuries to leading players. Key middle-order batsman Michael Clarke (back), first choice wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (finger) and left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken (knee) have all been forced to follow the action from the sidelines. “We've been playing consistently good one-day cricket, I expect that to continue over the next couple of weeks in India,” Ponting said. Tim Paine, standing in for Haddin as wicketkeeper after Australia lost the Ashes Test series in England, has displayed good form with the bat, while all-rounder Shane Watson's successive centuries in the Champions Trophy provided a big boost. The second match will be played in the western city of Nagpur on Oct. 28. India was knocked out of the preliminary round in the Champions Trophy, but Ponting felt Dhoni's side would be a different proposition on its home turf. India's struggling batting order has been strengthened by the return of Virender Sehwag from injuries, even though pace ace Zaheer Khan is yet to regain match-fitness. “Confronting the Indian team in front of huge home crowds will be a big challenge,” said Australia coach Tim Nielsen, reminding his players not to “get too emotionally into it.” Ponting said the intensity of the contests between these two teams – currently No. 1 and 2 in ICC's one-day rankings – had seen it develop into a genuine rivalry.
