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Australia will be without fast bowler Brett Lee and allrounder James Hopes for the third ODI against India in Delhi on Saturday. Lee had not recovered from his elbow problem while Hopes still had a hamstring injury.

"Both the guys [Lee and Hopes] are not playing tomorrow. Lee had a light training today and he looks 85% fine but there is still some pain in his elbow," Ponting said. "Hopes got through his bowling today but we have our fingers crossed. We hope he will be okay for Mohali after sitting out tomorrow."

There was some good news for the visitors, though, as wicketkeeper Graham Manou was expected to reach Delhi in time for the game as a replacement for Tim Paine, who broke his finger during the second ODI in Nagpur. "Graham [Manou] will arrive this afternoon. He has some international experience having played a few Test matches and also in Ashes," Ponting said.

While Australia have a replacement opener in Shaun Marsh to fill in for Paine, the absence of Lee is a major blow to a bowling attack that has struggled to contain the Indian batsman, especially during the final overs. In the first ODI in Vadodara, Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar added 84 runs in 9.3 overs for the eighth wicket and, in Nagpur, India plundered 108 off the last ten overs to post 354, the highest total by any team batting first against Australia in an ODI.

Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who was also in doubt for the Nagpur ODI with an ankle strain, will play despite discomfort to bolster the attack in the remaining ODIs.