The euphoria of the unprecedented welcome that culminated at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has barely died down. Yet the Australians are already here with the promise of tough challenges. The injury-hit side will still be smarting from their semi-final ouster in the T20 Championships.

Stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist admitted his team was caught up short in that match. "There is no excuse for us now. We've had plenty of time and we know the conditions well," he told a news conference on the eve of the first game at Bangalore.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting is out of the first ODI as he is still nursing a hamstring injury. However Gilchrist said his team was ready for the challenge, "We've got a few new faces which a lot of people would have not have seen, and we're confident about them," he added.

India's new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will have a full-team at his command with the return of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, who had opted out of the Twenty20 tour. Zaheer Khan who was rested for that tournament is also back. It will be interesting to see what combination will be preferred tomorrow.

Ponting has already set the mind games in motion saying his side had the right to be called world champions because they hold the World Cup in ODIs as well as in Tests.

The Future Cup will be spread over seven one-dayers and will kick off at the Chinaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on September 29.

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