Bumrah and bust: Aussie top order facing perfect storm

Australia captain Pat Cummins has attributed a record lean run from his top three batters to the lively conditions they are experiencing on home pitches, with the threat of Indian superstar Jasprit Bumrah looming large ahead of Boxing Day.

With 21 wickets in three Tests, Bumrah has been the standout bowler of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series to date, and on the final day of the third Test at the Gabba he claimed his 53rd Test victim in Australia to become his country's most prolific wicket-taker in this country.

The unorthodox right-armer has revelled in the spicy conditions and with the new Kookaburra ball, which for the past few seasons has been modified to offer quicks a more pronounced seam. Currently, his series average of 10.90 and strike-rate of 25.1 are the best by a visiting bowler to Australia in Test history (min 20 wickets).

The upshot of those factors has proven a perfect storm for Australia's top-order batters: Bumrah has dismissed Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne a combined 10 times in the series so far.

Khawaja (12.60) and McSweeney (14.40) are currently averaging the second-lowest and fourth-lowest returns respectively among Australian openers to have completed five innings in a home series, while Labuschagne's mark of 16.40 is the fifth-lowest of number three and four batters within those same parameters.

"I think the trend in world cricket – pretty much all around the world – is the top three is a really hard place to bat at the moment," Cummins said. "Particularly here in Australia, the wickets are tough."

Cummins also pointed out the important role of McSweeney (39) and Labuschagne (64) in helping set a platform for Travis Head's fireworks in Australia's second Test victory, while the same could be said of the first innings in Brisbane, when they each faced between 49 and 55 balls to again allow their middle order to enter proceedings when the ball had softened.

"I think there's little snippets (of performances) that have been important," he said. "That first innings (at the Gabba), Trav walks in 35 overs into the game, which I think makes a big difference. Same in Adelaide.

"So obviously they'd be hoping to score more runs, (and) we'd like them to score more runs, but I think they have made some important contributions that others have benefited from."

With the series locked at one-all with two Tests to play, the spotlight will only intensify on the trio, and while Khawaja and Labuschagne each have a mountain of Test runs on their resume to point to, the same cannot be said of McSweeney, who has been tasked with a monumental challenge as a new opener in his maiden Test series.

And while none of his rivals for the spot made a particularly compelling case in Sheffield Shield action prior to the Big Bash break, the hot form of Blues opener Sam Konstas against both red ball and white has ensured the youngster remains part of the selection debate in the wider public.

Cummins said Australia's selection panel will convene in the next day or two to pick a squad for the fourth and fifth Tests, and praised McSweeney's selfless approach at the top of the order.

"It's been really hard for the opening batters, for both sides really, and I've been really impressed with the way he's gone about it," he said. "Even today, someone starting out his career and still being selfless enough to go out there and try and play shots rather than just trying to preserve and get a score, (I was) really impressed with him again."

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: India won by 295 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets

Third Test: Match drawn

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Brendan Doggett, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal