Australia won the toss at Cuttack and elected to bat first on a brown strip of mud that looked like it would play the same on day 5 as on day 1. Only 19 overs were bowled as heavy rain wiped out the first day with Australia 40 for 1.
Australia started again on day 2, but it was slow going and they eventually declared their innings on 286 for 7. Adam Gilchrist top scored, smashing a rapid 67 in just 85 balls. Indias first innings got off to a bad start and they slumped to 17 for 2 with Lindwall removing both openers. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar put on 97 for the 3rd wicket and Tendulkar went on to make a fantastic unbeaten century. Dhoni declared with an hour to go before tea on day 4, hoping to put the Aussies under some pressure and maybe entice a declaration from Bradman.
Bumrah and Zaheer took 3 quick wickets, reducing Australia to 44 for 3. Bradman failed again making only 1 and it looked like Dhonis gamble may have paid off. Steve Smith joined Matthew Hayden though and they combined in a partnership of 122. Smith was dismissed for 65 but Hayden hit 136* in 171 balls. There was a declaration from Bradman, coming midway through the first session on day 5, once the game was safe. Australia set India a target of 303 after batting for only 55 overs. Lindwall removed Gavaskar for 8 and while India lost 3 more wickets, they were never really in any trouble. Both captains agreed to end the game as a draw at the start of the last hour.
Australia head home once again to Sydney, where they will take on New Zealand. India are off to England and will play at the Oval.
Australia ATG 1st Innings 286-7 (120 Ov)
AC Gilchrist 67, KR Miller 55*, AR Morris 44, R Ashwin 2-53, Kapil Dev 2-57, A Kumble 2-61
India ATG 1st Innings 225-5 (109 Ov)
SR Tendulkar 112*, R Dravid 45, RR Lindwall 3-53
Australia ATG 2nd Innings 241-4 (55 Ov)
ML Hayden 136*, SPD Smith 65, KR Miller 33*, JJ Bumrah 2-72
India ATG 2nd Innings 156-4 (60 Ov)
V Kohli 36*, V Sehwag 34, MS Dhoni 29*, RR Lindwall 2-37
Match Drawn
Man of the match: ML Hayden
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