Twitter erupts as Australia beat India by 146 runs in the second Test
India started the Test series on a positive note by winning the first Test at Adelaide but the Australian team have bounced back strongly to level the series 1-1 at Perth. In addition to the selection errors, the failure of Indian batsmen to stay long at the crease meant that India lost the match by 146 runs.
India were expected to correct their team selection issues after the series loss to England but once again India had to face the consequences of errors made even before the match. On a pitch which provided a lot of assistance to the bowlers, India made a huge error in the bowling department. While Australia's Nathan Lyon picked up the Man of the Match award for picking up eight wickets, India did not have a specialist spinner in their side.
Even the selection of Umesh Yadav as the fourth pacer instead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar is also under question as the latter is accurate with his bowling and can also bat in the lower order. Umesh, on the other hand, had a terrible outing as he picked up just two wickets for 139 runs.
Another major difference between both sides was the performance of their openers. While the Australian openers - Marcus Harris and Aaron Finch - by scoring individual half-centuries stitched a century partnership for the first wicket in the first innings, Indian openers contributed a total of only 22 runs in both the innings.
A terrible performance from the opening pair and a long tail meant that the responsibility was solely rested on three batsmen - Chesteshwara Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. In the first innings, the Indian captain and vice-captain scored 123 and 51 respectively to take India close to Australia's total but their failure in the second innings led to a huge loss.
Going into the Boxing Day Test, India will look to address the selection issues and some of their players might have to face the axe owing to their bad performances. The long duration between two Tests might help injured players like Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin to make a comeback. India will have to arrest the shifting of momentum towards Australia's way quickly if they want to win the series.
Here's how Twitter reacted to India 146-run defeat: