Australia v India: MS Dhoni secures Test draw but loses series

India captain MS Dhoni (left) batted for 16 overs to draw his final Test as a player

Australia drew the third Test against India to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

The home side declared on 318-9 at lunch on the final day, setting India 384 to win in 70 overs.

Virat Kohli (54) and Ajinkya Rahane (48) led India's resistance after they lost three wickets for 19 runs.

Captain MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin then survived a nervous final hour to push India to safety, as they closed on 174-6.

Australia resumed their second innings on 261-7 and had been expected to bat aggressively to add runs quickly before declaring, but Shaun Marsh and Ryan Harris took their time in a 69-run partnership, also knowing a draw would be enough for Australia to clinch the series.

Marsh was run out for 99 shortly before lunch as he attempted a rash single to bring up his first Test century on home soil.

After the break, Harris struck with the second ball of the second over to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan for a duck before Lokesh Rahul continued his forgettable Test debut by falling for one to a Mitchell Johnson short ball, following his three in the first innings.

Josh Hazlewood then claimed his first Test dismissal of the Test, trapping opener Murali Vijay lbw for 11 to leave India 19-3 after 8.2 overs.

But Kohli and Rahane steadied the innings to leave Australia needing seven wickets in the final session.

Kohli fell to the first ball after the tea break, caught at backward square leg, before Chetshewar Pujara was bowled by Johnson for 21 while Rahane was caught at mid-wicket off Hazlewood, to leave India on 142-6 with 15 overs remaining.

However, Dhoni, who announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket after the match, and Ashwin saw off 11 of the overs before a draw was mutually agreed with four overs remaining.

The result sees Australia regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.