India vs Australia, 2nd Test: Four reasons why India lost at Perth

India were beaten soundly at Perth by Australia

Perth, December 18: Australia beat India by 146 runs in the second Test at Perth on Tuesday (December 18) to level the four-match series 1-1. India were in the match occasionally when skipper Virat Kohli made a hundred or when their pacers found the mojo, but was not consistent enough to challenge the Aussies.

Here MyKhel looks into the reasons that led to India's heavy defeat at Perth.

1. Lack of opening stand

Both KL Rahul and M Vijay appeared all at sea against Australian new ball bowlers. Rahul's issue seems more about confidence than technical and Sunil Gavaskar aptly suggested to release him from the squad and make him play in the Ranji Trophy. Vijay looked solid in the second innings at Perth and Adelaide but failed to get a move on and he might be given another chance to underline his worth but may see a new opening partner - most likely either Mayank Agarwal or Parthiv Patel. At Perth, India were reduced to 8/2 in the first innings and 0/1 in the second innings, not the ideal start on a brute pitch where a solid start was mandatory.

2. Australian openers find range

Contrary to India, the home side openers Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris gave a masterclass about opening such conditions. In the first innings, they accumulated 112 runs and 59 in the second and those two partnerships had a major impact in the outcome of the match. The Indian bowlers were relentless but the Harris and Finch, who coped a lot of criticism for his poor outings at Adelaide, stood their ground and helped Australia surge.

3. Where is the spinner?

At Lord's earlier this year, India went with two spinners on a green top - Ashwin and debutante Kuldeep Yadav. And that strategy backfired magnificently. At Perth, there was generous smattering of green on the pitch and India opted for four pacers and Hanuma Vihari operated as part-time off-spinner. But as Nathan Lyon went about destroying India with an eight-wicket haul, Kohli might secretly have been wishing the presence of either Ravindra Jadeja or Kuldeep, both of them were sitting on the bench wearing the bib. The team selection has again come to haunt India.

4. Giving runs to tailenders

In the first innings, Travis Head departed at 251 and it was Australia's sixth wicket. But Tim Paine and the last four wickets (7th, 8th, 9th, 10th) added precious 75 runs to take Australia to 326. In a stunning coincidence, India too lost their sixth wicket at 251 and the late order batsmen could add only 32 runs. India were bowled out for 283 and Australia gained a vital 43-run lead. The situation repeated in the second innings. Australia lost their eighth wicket at 198 and Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood added 45 runs for the 9th and last wicket stands. Those runs were invaluable as Australia stretched their lead from 241 to 286, an imposing one on a volatile pitch. Indian bowlers need to find a way to dismiss the Australian tail much cheaply or otherwise it will keep hurting them in this series.