Australia vs. India 2014, 3rd Test, Day 5: Highlights, Scorecard, Report

Australia reclaimed the Border–Gavaskar Trophy from India on Tuesday at the MCG as the two teams played out a draw in the third Test to leave the hosts with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

India's batsmen were hanging on come the final overs as the Aussies looked to claim the win, Virat Kohli top-scoring for the visitors with 54 as they chased down a speculative 384 to keep the series alive, eventually finishing on 174-6.

Australia skipper Steve Smith had earlier declared on 318-9 when second-innings hero Shaun Marsh was run out by Kohli on 99 as he went in search of his third Test century.

Remarkably, Tuesday's draw is the first result of its kind at the MCG in over 15 years, per ESPNcricinfo:

The Aussies resumed on 261-7 with Marsh joined by Ryan Harris at the crease, but a couple of bursts of rain led to a truncated morning session.

When things eventually dried up after a short delay, Harris fell first for 21, edging behind to MS Dhoni off the bowling of Mohammed Shami.

Total	for 9 (98.0 ovs)	318
Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Minutes	Balls
Warner	lbw	b Ashwin	40	67	42
Rogers		b Ashwin	69	191	123
Watson	c Dhoni	b I Sharma	17	42	34
Smith	c Rahane	b U Yadav	14	46	27
S Marsh	run out (Kohli)		99	269	215
Burns	c Dhoni	b I Sharma	9	21	17
Haddin	c Dhoni	b U Yadav	13	40	27
Johnson	c Rahane	b Shami	15	46	27
Harris	c Dhoni	b Shami	21	104	68
Lyon	not out		1	18	10
Hazlewood	not out		0	2	3
Extras	5nb 2w 0b 13lb	20
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
U Yadav	22.0	3	89	2
Shami	28.0	4	92	2
I Sharma	20.0	5	49	2
Ashwin	28.0	4	75	2

Marsh then pushed the accelerator as he went in search of his ton, clearing the boundary ropes to move into the 90s. However, he eventually fell one short as he was run out and Smith called for the declaration with his side 318-9.

With India needing 384 from a remaining 70 overs, it was always going to be a difficult chase for Dhoni's men and they did not make the best of starts, Shikhar Dhawan falling for a duck in the second over, and Lokesh Rahul for 1 not long after.

When Murali Vijay was trapped lbw—controversially per Cricket Australia—for 11 by Josh Hazelwood in the ninth over, all thoughts of an Indian win effectively went out the window:

Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane managed to retain a sense of respectability for India as the pair put on 85 together before the former fell to Harris to make it 104-4 in the 35th over.

Total	for 6 (66.0 ovs)	174
Batsman	Dismissal	Boweler	Runs	Minutes	Balls
Vijay	lbw	b Hazlewood	11	40	28
Dhawan	lbw	b Harris	0	6	5
Rahul	c Watson	b Johnson	1	6	5
Kohli	c Burns	b Harris	54	133	99
Rahane	c S Marsh	b Hazlewood	48	192	117
Pujara		b Johnson	21	67	70
Dhoni	not out		24	66	39
Ashwin	not out		8	44	34
Extras	1nb 0w 0b 6lb	7
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Johnson	15.0	3	38	2
Harris	16.0	8	30	2
Hazlewood	15.0	3	40	2
Lyon	12.0	0	36	0
Watson	6.0	1	14	0
Smith	2.0	0	10	0

It was all about clinging on in the end for India, Rahane reaching 48 before falling to Hazelwood and Cheteshwar Pujara bowled by Mitchell Johnson for 21.

Ravi Ashwin and Dhoni were able to bat out the draw as India finished on 174-6, but the skipper admitted to a lack of consistent quality throughout the series so far, per ESPNcricinfo:

Meanwhile, Smith conceded that he held off on an earlier declaration to ensure his side wrapped up the series, again per ESPNcricinfo. 

The Australians have been by far the better side throughout the series after three Tests and things will need to turn around for the Indians if they are to pick up a win in Sydney.

The fourth and final Test begins on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground and India will hope to salvage something from what has, thus far, been an underwhelming series for the tourists.