The emotions triggered in the immediate aftermath of the Sydney streetfight have cooled off a great deal, even though the heat will be no less intense at the WACA over the next five days.

On inarguably the fastest, most bouncy cricket pitch in the world, Anil Kumble's men face the daunting challenge of having to bounce back with a vengeance so as to keep themselves alive in a four-Test series which Australia lead 2-0. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy might have already been won and lost, but the series is still alive; the onus is on India to do the running in the third Test beginning on Wednesday.

That is, of course, easier said than done. Australia are a win shy of setting a new world record of 17 consecutive Test victories, and the WACA, more than any other ground in this country, is the one that suits their brand of cricket best. Australia also believe the attributes of the surface -- great pace and additional bounce -- are the same that India's famed batting line-up will find the hottest to handle.

Ricky Ponting revealed his hand a day before the Test by announcing a return to Test cricket after two and a half years of Shaun Tait, making him the fourth and potentially most dynamic link in a pace quartet that should relish the assistance the strip will offer them. India responded in kind by deciding to unleash Virender Sehwag at the top of the order, a decision necessitated as much by the desire to snatch the early initiative as Yuvraj Singh's extraordinarily poor run in the first two Tests.

Sehwag's last Test was more than 54 weeks back, in Cape Town against South Africa, while Tait hasn't played a Test since the Ashes tour of England in mid-2005. The dashing opener against the tearaway quick will not be the defining contest of the game -- that will be a gross insult to the richness of India's batting and the versatility of the Brett Lee-spearheaded Aussie bowling -- but the mini-battle with the scope for the explosive could set the tone.

Hamstring injury

Minus the services of Matthew Hayden in a Test for the first time since 2000 after the opener was ruled out with a hamstring injury, Australia will hand a debut to local lad Chris Rogers, also a left-hander. Rogers is no spring chicken at 30, nor is he an unknown commodity for the Indians, who had a good look at him during the warm-up tie in Canberra last week. India will be delighted at not having to contend with the in-form Hayden, who has made a hundred in each of the two previous Tests, though that delight will be tempered by the knowledge that in the past, they have helped debutants quickly make the climb up to household names.

Third seamer

Like Brad Hogg who made way for Tait, Harbhajan Singh too will warm the benches after Kumble's assertion that a third seamer could come into the picture in deference to the nature of the WACA pitch. Neither Pankaj Singh nor Vikram Rajvir Singh did enough to suggest in Canberra that they deserve a Test spot just now; Irfan Pathan's ability to swing the ball and therefore the belief that he can make use of the Fremantle Doctor should make him the logical choice, and especially because he is a more than capable batsman.

Saying that, Pathan should only be a support batting cast for India to be making the running. The top six is now virtually the same as that of four summers back when India toured Australia -- Wasim Jaffer for Akash Chopra is the only change -- and a return to the tried and tested could actually work in India's favour as Rahul Dravid goes down to number three and VVS Laxman to number six. A second reshuffling of the batting order in three Tests might appear a sign of confusion, but there is merit to Kumble's line of thinking, and particularly with the batsmen having posted just one meaningful score in four innings so far.

Kumble himself is one shy of 600 Test wickets, another monumental accomplishment in a memorable career. The skipper realises, though, that just one won't do. Having braced himself to bowl long spells into the wind, Kumble would love to lead from the front to deny Australia their place under the sun. And win number 17.

Teams: Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Phil Jaques, Chris Rogers, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Shaun Tait.

India (from): Anil Kumble (capt), Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pankaj Singh, Vikram Rajvir Singh, Dinesh Kaarthick, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh.

Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and Billy Bowden (New Zealand).