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Australia's players are gearing up for a massive World Cup quarter-final clash with India in Ahmedabad after the co-hosts clinched second spot in Group B with a win over West Indies.

India's 80-run win in Chennai means Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men will host Australia in a sudden-death quarter-final on Thursday (2000 AEDT).

Ricky Ponting's defending champions are in a confident mood despite their 34-game unbeaten run in World Cup matches coming to an end on Saturday night in Colombo as they lost to Pakistan by four wickets.

Pakistan's 6-178 with nine overs to spare in reply to Australia's 176 all out in 46.5 overs delivered top spot in Group A to Shahid Afridi's side while Australia finished third.

"We will be at our best for the quarter-finals," Dhoni said after Sunday's win over the Windies.

"Australia are a very strong side and very expressive on the field. But it's about how we prepare for the game to achieve what we want.

"In the process, we hope to give our best."

Ponting has warned his side they need to find their best form in a hurry, after admitting going from 1-75 to 176 was not good enough to win a big game in the World Cup.

The skipper was particularly concerned about the influence of Pakistan spinner Mohammad Hafeez, who took 1-26 from his 10 overs and "put the brakes" on Australia's scoring.

"We weren't able to rotate the strike anywhere near well enough off him," Ponting said on Saturday night.

"If we play India in Ahmedabad ... we'll have to handle them (spinners) a whole lot better than we did today.

"We have to learn from that, and we have to learn from that quickly."

Ponting also put his faith in spinner Jason Krejza, who has taken only five wickets in six matches on turning pitches in India and Sri Lanka.

"I thought Jason was pretty good ... I thought he looked pretty dangerous," Ponting said after Krejza took 1-44.

"Whenever you have a bat-pad to a spinner, you think he's creating a bit of out the track.

"He went for a couple of boundaries in the last over which made his figures not look so great but overall I thought he was pretty good."

Ponting's men face a 12-hour travel day and are scheduled to arrive in Ahmedabad on Monday night with two days of training to precede Thursday's sudden-death game.