Defending champion Australia has won the toss and will bat first in Thursday's World Cup quarterfinal against India at Sardar Patel Stadium.

Under-fire skipper Ricky Ponting's Australians are coming off a four-wicket loss to Pakistan last weekend, which ended its 34-match unbeaten streak at the World Cup dating back to 1999.

The Australians have won seven of their nine World Cup matches against India, including a 125-run victory in the 2003 final.

India hasn't won the World Cup since 1983 and is under huge pressure to perform for the cricket crazy fans in this nation of more than 1.1 billion people.