Jackson Barrett: India face test of depth outside of superb Jasprit Bumrah as Aussies flex muscle in Brisbane

India are about to face a depth test. That is, do they have any bowlers other than Jasprit Bumrah genuinely able to trouble Australia’s middle-order — which has run into rich form — on wickets that just aren’t helping them an awful lot? Bumrah is the only Indian player to hold up his end of the bargain the whole way through this series. He has made Nathan McSweeney is bunny and had the wood over Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne too. But as he battles an injury concern and gets deeper into a gruelling series, he can’t be the man they rely on to dismiss Travis Head and Steve Smith as well. On Sunday, those two batters made very light work of the Indian attack and were unperturbed by anyone other than Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj started this series well in Perth but has made headlines for all the wrong reasons since then and the promise around Harshit Rana dissipated quickly with a poor performance in Adelaide. Nitish Kumar Reddy has shown himself to be a batting all-rounder and just doesn’t have the pace to trouble Australia and the visitors have already run through all three of their spin options in as many Tests. They are getting more and more desperate for Mohammad Shami to arrive, but reports suggest it’s getting less and less likely. It seemed unthinkable after their disaster in Perth, but all of a sudden Australia has a raft of players in form. Head scored back-to-back centuries for the first time in his Test career and the ease with which he raced beyond that mark in the final session of day two set Indian alarm bells off. The sight of Head resting on a Siraj half-volley and lacing it straight down the ground would have sent shudders through Indian fans leaning on him as their second-in-command. When Australia bowled a lifeless hour to Virat Kohli and he blasted a back-against-the-wall ton in Perth last month, it felt like the hosts had stirred the sleeping giant. Now a similar performance has let Smith into the series. Khawaja is now the only Australian batter we haven’t seen much from. Every other member of the top five have swatted away question marks that surrounded them between the build-up in Perth to halfway through this match. The Australian camp did warn us before the series Smith had brought his hands on tour. We got a fleeting glimpse in the first match either side of otherwise concerning efforts. This is his first century since the Ashes midway through last year. Now the next couple of innings will tell us if he is really back. His celebration came across as an impassioned statement that he feels he has plenty left to give.