Third test ends in draw

The handshakes and pats on the back Kumble received as he left the field for the final time meant an emotional end to a day that had looked as predictable as a Mills and Boon novel after Australia struggled to spark the collapse they needed in the first few hours. They picked up two wickets in the first session and one in the third but India's strong middle order, led by VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, had little trouble on a pitch that had less life than John McCain's presidential campaign.

Laxman added an unbeaten 59 to his first-innings double-century, Tendulkar made a useful 47 and Sourav Ganguly threw in a couple of lusty blows towards the end as the game fizzled out of reach of both teams. Not for the first time this series Australia looked incapable of claiming the 20 wickets typically needed to win a Test - they snared only 12 in this game - but on this occasion the benign surface was more responsible than their bowlers.