Lee rested, advantage India

Tomorrow, it will be 37 degree Celsius at the Adelaide Oval as Team India get down to dismantle the Australians. Their job has been made slightly easy with Brett Lee having been rested. With Australia almost sure of making it to the finals, the fast bowler has been given the much-needed break and India realise8212;without a pinch of complacency8212;that their batters have a great chance of handing out another good start which they desperately need to cushion their middle-order. Lee has been outstanding this summer, and though his likely replacement tomorrow, Stuart Clark, has bowled miserly spells, Australia will be sans his penetrative powers with the new and the old ball.

Virender Sehwag was off practice today with a hip strain, but he will be keen to get a grip over his one-day form too at the same venue, and against the same opposition he had defied so masterly just three weeks ago. The wicket is expected to be a lot similar, providing more impetus to the batters and will hold its own in the later part with some slow turn for the spinners. Another centurion from that Test here is itching to get a one-day hundred too. It8217;s been 381 days since Sachin Tendulkar recorded his 41st ODI hundred, and the Little Master will be keen to set the record straight with a three-figure score to hop past the 99, 93, 99, 94, 99, 97 he8217;s had in that period.

And then there8217;s a seemingly desperate Yuvraj Singh. He is slowly knocking himself back into form at the nets and will be keen to reiterate the stability that his batting provides to this order.

The two people around him have been in great nick8212;Gautam Gambhir is enjoying a good run in this series and it will be up to the genial left-hander not to fritter away yet another chance. Rohit Sharma has been a calm figure at No. 4 and will again be crucial to keep the scoreboard ticking against the likes of Brad Hogg, James Hopes and the slow-cutters like Nathan Bracken to allow Dhoni, Robin Uthappa and Irfan Pathan to raise the tempo in the last 10 overs.

The famed Indian seam bowling, meanwhile, will be under some test at the start with Matthew Hayden and the now back-to-form Adam Gilchrist. All eyes will be on Sreesanth to see if he can get his groove back after the hammering he received from Jayasuriya as he runs in to bowl to another explosive left-hander.

But, if he and Ishant Sharma together manage to tame the two left-handers, the brittle Australian middle-order will be easy to tackle.

Skipper Ricky Ponting is having a horrendous 2008 season, while Michael Clarke is deemed doubtful with a bruised rib, However, the Aussies8217; biggest worry is the sudden dip in Andrew Symonds8217; form, which is so crucial to their late-overs surge. Harbhajan Singh is bowling magnificently and will be responsible for bowling out the middle overs while conceding fewer runs, while Australia will look to go after the set of 10 overs from part-timers.

India are expected to go in with the same XI, though a minor batting-order shuffle is on the cards. With Australia again roaring back into top form, the onus will be on India to prove that the Melbourne victory was no flash in the pan, and that this bunch is ready to play consistently good cricket.

Team India8217;s future group requires some success in the present, and if it happens on Sunday, there8217;s nothing like it.