Australia v India: Third Test ends in draw after more bad weather

Australia and India will head into Boxing Day all square after the rain-hit Brisbane Test finished in a draw on Wednesday.

The final day showed some initial promise when the hosts cleaned up the Indian tail early, heading into their second innings with a lead of 185 runs.

However, lightning and rain soon halted any momentum, delaying the start of the Aussie innings until well after midday.

The home side came out swinging in a bid to keep all results in play, with five of the top six batters falling for single digits.

Travis Head (17) and Alex Carey (20*) got things back on track, while skipper Pat Cummins stepped up with a timely 22 from 10 balls before declaring at 7/89.

Chasing 275 for victory, opener KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal got India to 0/8 before bad light halted play once again.

That proved to be a precursor to heavy rain, and it was not long until both camps were shaking hands and conceding the draw.

Next up is the annual Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, where the Aussies will be forced to make at least one change.

With Josh Hazlewood suffering a calf injury at the Gabba, Victorian seamer Scott Boland is expected to play in front of a home crowd.

While the series is level at 1-1, top cricket betting sites now have Australia as clear favourites at $1.76 to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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