Australia’s stand-in captain Shane Watson won the toss and chose to bat first in the fourth Test against India in Delhi.
Watson became Australia’s 44th Test cricket captain after Michael Clarke’s back injury ruled him out of the final Test of the series.
Down 0-3 in the four Test series, the selectors made five changes in all to the Australian line-up, with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade returning from an ankle injury to be Watson’s deputy.
Like Watson, paceman James Pattinson returned after being suspended from last week’s third Test at Mohali for failing to submit ideas on how to improve the struggling team as required by coach Mickey Arthur.
Also suspended for the third Test, left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson was picked for his first Test of the tour while offspinner Glenn Maxwell was recalled.
Spinner Xavier Doherty, allrounder Moises Henriques and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin were dropped while paceman Mitchell Starc (ankle surgery) and Clarke were out injured.
Watson’s promotion capped a dramatic week for the 31-year-old.
He only arrived back in India on Tuesday after returning home and attending the birth of his first child when suspended along with Pattinson, Usman Khawaja and Johnson.
“It’s really a dream come true to be asked to captain your country,” said Watson.
“I’ve captained some one-day internationals, but to be asked to captain a Test will be the ultimate honour.
“It’s obviously very disappointing that Michael hasn’t come up. His batting and leadership will certainly be sorely missed.
“But I’m looking forward to the challenge and responsibility over the next five days.”
National selector Rod Marsh insisted choosing Watson as captain was not difficult.
“The decision for Shane Watson to step in as captain was a very straightforward one for the National Selection Panel.
“Shane is the vice-captain on this tour and as a senior member of the group is well credentialled to lead Australia in Michael’s absence.
“The CA Board has endorsed the NSP recommendation that Shane should captain Australian in the fourth Test.
“Shane is an experienced player in Indian conditions and has captained the Australian ODI side nine times.”
India named 24-year-old debutant Ajinkya Rahane to replace injured opener Shikhar Dhawan.
Sunny conditions have greeted players with the pitch looking flat and good for batting on day one.
Australia: Shane Watson (capt), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Phil Hughes, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon.
India: MS Dhoni (capt), Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane,Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma.