Hampered by injuries to key players, the Australian cricket team took off for India to play a seven-match ODI series with skipper Ricky Ponting conceding that despite their Champions Trophy debacle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men would be hard to beat in home conditions.

"They will be particularly hard to beat in India, they always are. They definitely play a lot better at home than they do when they travel," Ponting told reporters before the Aussies boarded their flight to India on Monday.