3 positive takeaways for India from the loss at Perth

India slumped to a 146-run defeat in the second Test at Perth this morning, allowing Australia to claw their way back into the series. It means that the tie is evenly poised going into the next Test, which begins on December 26, the famed Boxing Day match.

There are several areas for India to focus on before it begins- with the openers' form being a major headache, while Rishabh Pant's wicketkeeping skills and lack of intent to hang around to help build the innings have left a lot to be desired. Team selection was also a major criterion for the defeat, with Umesh Yadav's inclusion in place of Ashwin the most glaring error.

However, not everything is completely negative about the Perth Test and here we take a look at some of the positives India can take away from the defeat.

#3 The pacers have been brilliant

India have not had a great history with pacers. Many talented ones have come into the side but not been able to deliver consistently (think of Irfan Pathan and RP Singh) with a few exceptions being Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan. Both played in different eras which meant that they had no supporting act at the other end to sustain the pressure.

This continued for a long time with Ishant Sharma also initially falling off the radar after that breezy spell against Ricky Ponting but the Delhi pacer is now part of arguably India's most lethal pace attack along with Bumrah and Shami. The trio seems to work very well with each other.

Bumrah and Shami have picked up 11 wickets each while Ishant has picked up eight. They are part of the top five wicket-takers in the series beaten only by Lyon, who has 16 wickets. They have hit the right areas consistently and have largely maintained good discipline in their lines and lengths.

The trio has had the Aussie batting line-up on tenterhooks and could have had more wickets if for some better catching from the fielders behind the stumps.