India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat in the Twenty20 international against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
World champions India have rested Sachin Tendulkar from their side for the one-off contest.
Michael Clarke will lead Australia for the second time after Ricky Ponting was ruled out earlier on Friday, the regular captain opting to rest a back injury before the triangular one-day series begins in Brisbane on Sunday.
Sri Lanka are the other side involved in the Tri-Series.
Batsman David Hussey is making his international debut for Australia.
Australia: Michael Clarke (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Voges, David Hussey, James Hopes, Ashley Nofke, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Pravin Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma.