The unlikely comeback win at Mohali may have given India confidence, but the absence of Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma due to injuries and uncertainty over Laxman's fitness puts the hosts at a disadvantage for the second Test starting Saturday.

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday said “Laxman is much better now compared to what he was,” but he not confident that the star batsman will play.

“Laxman did not practice today, but we would love to have him in the playing XI,” Dhoni said. “We can't decide about that because in the longer format the body has to take the load over five days.”

Laxman batted at No. 10 in the first innings at Mohali due to a back problem and went to the crease at No. 7 in the second innings. But he played a crucial knock of 73 not out to guide India to the remarkable triumph.

Tail ender Ishant, who produced a gritty knock of 31 in an 81-run stand for the ninth wicket on the last day, ably supported him. Ishant had also taken three crucial wickets in Australia's second innings but will miss the second and final test due to an injury.

Compounding Dhoni's concerns is India's poor record at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium, where it hasn't won a test since 1995.

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting admitted after the first Test that he'd always been wary of Laxman.

“I expect him to play,” Ponting said, but added that India's batting depth couldn't be underestimated in any case. “Believe me, we pay total respect to all their batters. We know how dangerous they all can be.

“Until you've got all their batsmen out, it shows how dangerous they can be.” Ponting said the Australians focused on positives this week, rather than their inability to break India's ninth and 10th wicket partnerships with Laxman at the crease.

“We're well geared up, we're well prepared,” he said.

Last week “goes to show that unless you're prepared to play cricket very, very well for five days, sometimes you don't achieve the result you're after.

“Unfortunately we didn't quite get over the line. But there were a lot of positives that we've really been talking about and focusing on this week.” Ponting said vice-captain Michael Clarke had practiced particularly well this week and was looking forward to playing again at Bangalore, where he scored 151 in his Test debut innings six years ago in a big Australian win.

“It's a place he does enjoy batting,” Ponting said. “To make your debut hundred on a ground always holds a special place for you. He's keen for a big performance in this game.” India is likely to bring in opener Murali Vijay and swing bowler Shantakumaran Sreesanth for Gambhir and Ishant, while Cheteshwar Pujara will be the likely replacement if Laxman does not recover from the back spasms which limited his participation at Moholi.

India has drafted in two rookies as cover — opener Abhinav Mukund and seam bowler Jaydev Unadakt.

Dhoni expects Australia to come back strongly in the second test match.

“That is their culture,” he said. “They do not give up easily, but we are ready.” The only player in doubt for Australia is fast bowler Doug Bollinger, who complained of abdominal pain during the first match and was unable to bowl after lunch on the final day, when Australia only required only two wickets for victory.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhinav Mukund, Jaydev Unadkat.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Philip Hughes, Mike Hussey, Marcus North, Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Tim Paine, James Pattinson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter George, Steven Smith.