The No. 3 Indian curse hits Australia hard!

Michael Clarke's golden duck in Mohali confirmed Australia's worst fears. Despite juggling of the batting order, the No. 3 position continues to be jinxed for the tourists in this series.

Following Phil Hughes's failures in that position, captain Clarke decided to promote himself in the batting order to that position but even he failed to deliver during day two of the rain-hit third Test in Mohali on Friday.

Clarke was out stumped as he jumped down the track to the first ball he faced from Ravindra Jadeja. He was beaten by the turn and ended up being stumped for a first-ball duck.

It continued the run of poor scores by Australia's No. 3 batsmen in the ongoing series.

Hughes scored 6 in the first innings of the first Test in Chennai, while David Warner made 23 in the second innings in that match.

In Hyderabad, Hughes could manage only 19 and 0, and was relegated to No. 4 for the third Test.

Clarke came up the order, but failed miserably.

Australia's batsmen's tally at No. 3 reads a pathetic 48 runs from 143 balls, at an average of 9.6, with a highest of 23 by Warner.

Traditionally, the No. 3 position is the key in a Test team. Many greats of the game have scored tons of runs batting there, including the recently-retired Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting.

In fact, Australia's woes at No. 3 started with Ponting as his skills began to desert him towards the end of his career. He managed just one fifty in his last 11 innings before retiring late last year.

Australia have tried various other players at No. 3 but without much success, and unless they find a good replacement they face a long struggle ahead in Tests.