Top order hits another low HYDERABAD: A day that began centred on one source of Australian consternation quickly became all about another. The dumping of Nathan Lyon, and the hail-mary selections of Xavier Doherty and debutant Glenn Maxwell for the second Test, cast the country's spin conundrum in the headlights. Within an hour or two it was a distant speck in the rear-view mirror, as that other problem area for the visitors - the top order - regathered prime position. David Warner, the free-swinging opener, has spoken about the goal of Australia's top three batsmen to chalk up more time in the middle, seeing out at least the first session between them. Partnerships, partnerships, partnerships is the mantra of his offsider Ed Cowan. On Saturday, the top four were all left trudging from the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium before lunch. At 1-0 down in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series slumping to 2-15 and then 4-63 on the first morning was not what Australia had in mind. Fortunately, they have Michael Clarke. The captain's rescue efforts are becoming about as surprising a plot as a Hollywood B-movie. He was at it again on Saturday, resurrecting an Australian first innings that had been brought to its knees not by spin, as it had been in Chennai, but by the bowling of second-game Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. By mid-afternoon the captain, who top-scored in a losing team with 130 in the first Test, had registered yet another 50, from 96 balls. Australia, at tea, were 4-187, with Clarke on 68 and Matthew Wade, playing despite a small fracture in his cheek and providing admirable support, unbeaten on 55. A Clarke score of substance is these days just an inevitable occurrence. There continue to be questions, however, about the batsmen stationed above Clarke. Benefiting from alarming surface movement Kumar removed Warner (6), Cowan (4) and Shane Watson (23) in a damaging first session after Australia had won the toss and batted. Phil Hughes was then undone on 19 trying to cut India's bowling hero of Chennai, Ravi Ashwin, but instead edging his off-break into to the gloves of M.S. Dhoni. Cowan was the most unlucky, hit on the pads fractionally outside the line of leg stump on closer inspection, but due to India's decision-review system boycott the opener had no riposte. Warner was the first out on Saturday but with an average of 42.81 he is the only one of the top four who can claim to be justifying his place at present. The others - Cowan, Hughes and Watson - are all averaging between the low- to mid-30s in Tests and need scores of some note soon. The outlook for Australia, on this tour and the one on the horizon - the Ashes series in the English summer - is not bright. Put simply, without Clarke, who is averaging more than 70 since becoming captain, they are stuffed. While India's quicks came to life early on, spin did not take long to be the primary mode of delivery. Ashwin was on by the 12th over, and by the afternoon it was the merry-go-round of the tall off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja that carried the load so successfully in Chennai. The wicket in Hyderabad is already turning although not with the same spice and inconsistency as the south Indian clay of last week.