Playing his debut series, Nathan McSweeney has fallen to Jasprit Bumrah thrice in four innings during the first two Tests in Perth and Adelaide, but the rookie Australian opener is relishing the challenge of facing the Indian ace early in his career, and is confident he can “throw a few more punches” at Bumrah in the third Test, beginning at the Gabba from Saturday.

McSweeney, who had a forgettable debut in the series opener in Perth, managed to successfully negotiate the menace of the Indian quick under floodlights in Adelaide and came up with a sedate 39 but more importantly dazzled in a critical partnership with Marnus Labuschagne, helping set the hosts up for an emphatic series-levelling 10-wicket win.

In the second essay, the right-hander added an unbeaten 10 to cap off an improved second showing in the Test arena, but it is his handling of Bumrah that becomes crucial as the action shifts to Brisbane later this week. Against Bumrah, McSweeney has so far faced 39 deliveries, and managed to score nine runs without a boundary, besides being dismissed thrice.

Ahead of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, McSweeney prefers to dwell in the positives, mainly of surviving Bumrah’s fiery spell in the twilight at the Adelaide Oval, even though he eventually perished to his nemesis in the next afternoon of the day-night Test.

“To get a bowler like Jasprit early on my career, it’s not going to get much tougher than that,” he said.

“I can take some confidence getting through a spell in Adelaide, and the more I face him, the more comfortable I’ll get against him. It’s challenging, no doubt, but it’s nice to get a little bit of confidence from Adelaide, and hopefully continue throughout the series.

“Facing him for the first time, he’s quite a unique bowler … So (it’s) just (about) adapting to his angle and where he delivers on the crease. I got two pretty good balls from him (in Perth), so (I) try and just wear that on the chin and trust that what I’ve been doing is going to be good enough. He got me again in Adelaide … (but) I’m really enjoying the experience (of trying to) work out a game plan on the run against a world-class bowler.

“Hopefully I’ll get better the more I face him, and I can throw a few more punches hopefully here at the Gabba,” he hoped.

On Wednesday, McSweeney was one of the handful of Australians training at the indoor nets of the National Cricket Centre, thanks to the inclement weather conditions in Brisbane.

The 25-year-old McSweeney, who scored a century at the Gabba on his domestic red-ball debut in 2018, relishes batting on the wicket, as he felt he could trust the bounce rather than fighting with it.

“I love playing here – the wicket has great bounce. Batting well at the Gabba (is about) leaving well in particular … you can really trust the bounce here, and it’s about not fighting that bounce, and scoring square of the wicket,” he said.

“It’s a ground that if you spend a long time out there, the game can open up and you can actually score quite quickly. So it’s definitely a new-ball wicket, and if you can get past that, it’s a lovely ground to bat on,” the opening batter added.