Australia, though, have paid equal attention to another Indian who calls Mumbai his home before Thursday's second World Cup quarterfinal.
Zaheer Khan has often provided the early breakthroughs to set the stage for his slow bowling colleagues such as Harbhajan Singh to thrive.
While a packed crowd at the Sardar Patel Stadium hope Tendulkar will reach his 100th international century on Thursday, Ponting's bigger concern is Zaheer.
"We had a good look at how India used him. He bowls three-four overs with the brand new ball and is generally held back until the 26th-27th over when the ball is reverse swinging.
He then bowls in the batting powerplay," Ponting told reporters on Wednesday.
"He gets the majority of his wickets when the teams are really attacking him. That's some lessons we have learned. We can try to put pressure on him as he is their main man and get him out (of the attack) or go the other way and try to hit the other guys." A master tactician who is equally lethal with both the new and old ball because of his command of swing both conventional and reverse, Zaheer's contribution does not end with sending down his quota of 10 overs.
When he is not bowling, Zaheer at mid-off, is a constant source of inspiration and ideas for fellow pacemen such as Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel and is considered India's bowling captain.
"We have relied a lot on him to get us those breakthroughs and he has always responded well," captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.
"I think the responsibility is with all the players but, at the same time, if Zaheer provides us with the breakthroughs we don't really mind. We have been able to capitalize on the breakthroughs that we have got. That's a big positive for us."
Meantime, opener Virender Sehwag is doubtful for India's World Cup quarterfinal against Australia on Thursday with a knee problem, Dhoni said.
"On Viru (Sehwag) we are taking a call late in the evening or tomorrow morning before the start of the game," Dhoni told reporters on Wednesday.
"Apart from him everybody else is fit for the game." Sehwag missed India's last Group B match against West Indies on Sunday after suffering an allergic reaction to an injection on his right knee but the co-hosts will be keen to play him against Australia as he has the ability to blunt Australia's formidable pace attack.
"It's really good to have Virender Sehwag opening the innings for you, because... deliveries will be short and to the body... and he's the kind of batsman, if you are slightly wrong with it, he can make the most out of that kind of a bowling," Dhoni said.
"He can play an aggressive game, he can change the course of the game in the first five overs and give your team the kind of momentum that is needed." The explosive batsman had earlier been hit on the rib during a net session last month and rushed to Delhi to consult his personal physician before joining the squad.
Sehwag scored a blistering 175 in India's tournament opener against Bangladesh and is among the tournament's top five scorers with 327 runs.
Matches: 104 Australia wins: 61 India wins: 35 No result: 8 First meeting: Dec 6, 1980, Melbourne — India won by 66 runs Last meeting: Oct 20, 2010, Vishakhapatnam - India won by five wickets
