Laxman out, Aussies bat first

Bangalore - Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat in the second and final cricket Test against India at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Saturday.

India's Venkatsai Laxman was ruled out after failing to recover fully from back spasms suffered during his match-winning knock of 73 not out in the first Test in Mohali.

Laxman was replaced by debutant Cheteshwar Pujara, while opener Murali Vijay and fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth came in for the injured duo of Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma.

Australia awarded a Test cap to lanky fast bowler Peter George, who replaced the injured Doug Bollinger.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Tim Paine, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter George. 12th man: Steven Smith.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth. 12th man: Amit Mishra.

Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Billy Bowden (NZL)

TV umpire: Amish Saheba (IND)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)