4 changes India should make for the Boxing Day MCG Test

India came crashing to the ground today morning as they lost the second Test at Perth by a whopping 146 runs. Though chasing a fourth innings target was always going to be an uphill task, the manner of defeat is what irks fans the most.

The result was a foregone conclusion once Australia stretched their lead over 200, but there was still some hope of drawing the match with Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and Hanuma Vihari expected to hold the fort.

However, Pujara and Kohli got out early, Rahane played an irresponsible shot. While Vihari offered resistance, fell cheaply this morning, all but dashing India's faint hopes.

India's team selection was cited as one of the main reasons for the loss (along with losing the toss, but that could go either way) and here we take a look at some changes that they need to make if they want to go ahead in the series once again:

#4 R Ashwin for Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav's selection for the injured Ashwin in the Perth Test ahead of a Ravindra Jadeja or Bhuvneshwar Kumar raised a lot of eyebrows. The Vidarbha lad has a lot of pace and has grown leaps and bounds from his initial days but his batting credentials as compared to the other two were non-existent.

However, considering the green top, everyone hoped it would work out for the best. But it was not to be. Yadav was the only pacer in the four-pronged attack who failed to deliver across both innings.

He did not sustain the pressure created from the other end by Ishant, Bumrah and Shami and was the most expensive in Australia's second innings, leaking runs at 4.4 an over - which is criminal by Test match standards, while failing to pick up any wickets.

He did provide a crucial breakthrough in the first innings by removing Pat Cummins but it is a no-brainer to bring Ashwin back for Melbourne, considering it is not as pacy as Perth and also because Ashwin provides a safe cushion for the tail, as he is capable of building partnerships and seeing out a spell of hostile bowling.

#3 Mayank Agarwal for Murali Vijay

Vijay has looked out of sorts for a while now

Murali Vijay was once a shoo-in for India's Test squad because of his ability to play long innings. He adapted his swashbuckling style of play to a more serene approach and was nicknamed 'The Monk' - which was an apt moniker for his strength of leaving balls and hitting the big hundreds, while his opening partners changed frequently.

However, that same strength seems to have deserted him in the past year. In fact, he was dropped mid-way through the England series for Shikhar Dhawan but the Delhi batsman's abysmal showings coupled with Prithvi Shaw's injury meant that Vijay was drafted back into the starting XI. But Vijay has not justified his selection so far.

He has repeatedly chased balls outside off and has looked very fidgety, save for the second innings at Perth. Recklessness is not something you expect from your opener and Mayank Agarwal will be a like-for-like replacement for him. It will also be a just reward for Agarwal who has been knocking on the doors of the Indian team for quite a while now.

Shaw was picked ahead of him in the bummer of a series against West Indies and he most probably would have been first-choice here but his injury is a blessing in disguise for the Karnataka batsman and also an audition to stake his claim to be the opener in the long run.

#2 Parthiv Patel for KL Rahul

Rahul has found new ways to get out in Australia

Another opener who is in an abysmal run of form, KL Rahul has not played one note-worthy inning save for his 149 against England in the final Test earlier this year. That innings secured his place for the Australia series but yet again, the Karnataka batsman has not justified his position.

While Rahul has always been an attacking batsman, he looks mighty short of confidence at the moment and his dismissal in the second innings at Perth only sums up how indecisive he has been. Bar an explosive 44 in the first Test, he has not got the runs nor has stuck around long enough to build a platform for the middle-order to build on.

Vijay and Rahul are essentially free wickets for the Aussies at the moment. While Agarwal can be brought in to replace Vijay, Rahul should be replaced by Parthiv Patel. He has opened in the past for India and is also a more seasoned campaigner who understands what the team needs.

An added advantage is that he is that Patel can keep wickets, which means that he can replace Pant too. We shall explain why he should be dropped in the next slide.

#1 Hardik Pandya for Rishabh Pant

Pant has made a number of errors while keeping

Now, this may seem a little harsh on the young Pant but the fact of the matter is that his inexperience is hurting the team at the moment. While it was always known that he was not a traditional Test batsman by any stretch of the imagination, his wicket-keeping has been amateurish and cost India at least two crucial wickets at Perth.

His movement behind the sticks has been poor, which means that he has to take those extra steps to catch away swingers. In the second innings, when India needed early wickets, Marcus Harris edged one off Ishant Sharma but Pant had moved the other way which meant that Pujara at first slip had to dive for it and he shelled it.

Pant's movement reminds us why Dhoni was such a great wicket-keeper. Bringing the fit-again Hardik Pandya may not be such a bad option, considering that he has displayed his intent to stick around in South Africa and England, something which Pant has failed to do in his short career so far.

Pandya can also share the bowling workload, which means that someone like a Vihari need not roll his arm over in case the frontline bowlers are tired.

There is also a lot of time to go for the third Test, which means that Pandya will not be rushed into the playing XI so soon after his comeback.