5 reasons why India lost the second Test against Australia

India took on Australia in the second Test match at Perth, looking to carry on with their fine form. Tim Paine won the toss and decided to bat first on what looked like a tricky surface to bat on.

India opted to go with 4 fast bowlers as there was a lot of grass on the pitch. The openers Marcus Harris and Aaron Finch laid a solid platform for the middle order with a fine 112 run stand. Some crucial runs lower down the order by Pat Cummins and Paine got Australia to an impressive score of 326 runs.

In reply, India’s top order fell away yet again but another superlative knock from Virat Kohli and a handy cameo from Ajinkya Rahane got India into a strong position. However, Nathan Lyon struck on Day 3 to hand Australia a 43-run lead.

In the third innings, Indian fast bowlers wrecked havoc but a dogged innings by Usman Khawaja got Australia out of jail. India needed 287 runs for a famous win. However, no one from India’s famed batting line-up could get going and India surrendered meekly, giving Australia a 146 run victory.

The series is now tied at 1-1. Let us take a look at 5 reasons why India lost the Test match:

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#1 Openers fail to get going, yet again

K.L Rahul failed yet again

After enduring a torrid time in the first Test at Adelaide, K.L Rahul and Murali Vijay were expected to mount some challenge to the Aussie quicks at Perth. Given the fact that Marcus Harris and Aaron Finch had put on 112 runs for the first wicket, Indian fans would have expected Indian openers to put up a fifty stand at the very least.

But as usual, the Indian openers couldn’t get past the new ball. In the first innings, Vijay was undone by an inswinger from Mitchell Starc while K.L Rahul fell to an outswinging yorker from Josh Hazlewood with his feet going nowhere.

India were 8/2 in the first innings. As batting was always going to get difficult in the second innings, it was pivotal that the openers put up some runs on the board in the first innings.

Sadly, that was not the case. In the second innings as well, Rahul fell in the very first over, trying to leave the ball while Vijay went for an expansive drive against Lyon and both had their stumps rattled.

#2 Nathan Lyon’s masterclass

Lyon was exceptional again

Nathan Lyon is currently the best finger spinner in the World. His impeccable line and length pose a problem for every batsman. Lyon has been a nemesis for the Indian batsmen over the years.

The likes of Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli have found the going tough against Lyon. The off-spinner proved his worth again by bagging 8 wickets in the match. Lyon turned the match around with his brilliant spell on Day 3 of the Test match picking a five-for in the first innings.

The Australian spinner first dismissed the well-set Rahane and then cleaned up India’s lower order in a flash. In the second innings as well, Lyon picked up the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli with a brilliant spell of spin bowling.

He was rightly declared the Man of the Match. India needs to find a way past Lyon’s nagging line and length if they are to pose any challenge to the Aussies in the upcoming Tests.

#3 Decision to play Umesh ahead of Jadeja

Jadeja warmed the bench even with spin, bounce on offer at Perth

All the talk ahead of the second Test at Perth was about the grass on offer on the pitch. Hence, the Indian team management decided to play Umesh Yadav in place of the injured Ravichandran Ashwin. The left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja was ignored, again.

The decision turned out to be a deciding factor in the game as the pitch had good assistance for the spinners which was proven by Nathan Lyon, who bagged the most wickets in the game.

Even the part-time off-spin of Hanuma Vihari was rewarded with two wickets. With great bounce on offer and the pitch developing cracks, Jadeja would have been more than a handful in the third innings of the game.

The flamboyant all-rounder could have also provided some handy runs lower down the order. Umesh had a disappointing outing as he leaked runs and picked up just 2 wickets in the game.

#4 Usman Khawaja’s resilient knock

Khawaja played a brilliant knock of 72 in the second innings

In the absence of David Warner, Steve Smith, the onus of Australia’s batting is in the hands of Usman Khawaja. Khawaja was brilliant against Pakistan in the UAE, helping the Aussies save a Test match.

Khawaja did not have the best of starts to this series, scoring just 36 runs in the first Test. In the first innings of Perth Test as well, Khawaja fell for a poor shot to a half-tracker from Umesh Yadav.

In the second innings, Khawaja proved his mettle with a brilliant inning of 72 runs. Although his innings was full of play and misses, Khawaja did not give his wicket away and kept at it. His partnership of 72 runs with Captain Tim Paine got Australia out of a tricky situation and put the Aussies into the driving seat.

The duo played out the first session of Day 4 when the match was firmly in the balance. It proved to be a pivotal moment in the game.

#5 Lack of batting depth

Ishant Sharma

India has one of the worst tails in terms of batting. The likes of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma cannot be trusted to get even 50 odd runs. Shami has a batting average of 11, Ishant - 7 while Bumrah’s batting averages a pathetic 1.5.

Add to that, India replaced a genuine batting option in the form of Ashwin with Umesh Yadav. Although Umesh Yadav did a pretty decent job of hanging at the crease in the first innings, he cannot provide you with those 30-40 runs down the order.

Contrastingly, the Australians have very capable batsmen down the order in Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. Cummins put on a 59-run stand in the first innings with captain Tim Paine and got Australia to an above par score.

India’s last 4 batsmen could only make 11 runs in both the innings combined. India needs to buffer up their batting stock if they are to make a comeback in the upcoming Tests.