:Rain interrupted Australia’s improbable bid for victory in the third Test in Brisbane on Wednesday as India bid farewell to one of the game’s great spin bowlers as Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement.

Although second for much of the first four days, India finished day five on a high by capturing seven wickets and with their opening matches facing just 2.1 overs before a downpour saw play abandoned after the tea and the match ended in a draw.

The weather allowed the five-Test series to remain locked at 1-1 ahead of the traditional ‘Boxing Day’ Test in Melbourne, where both teams will bring a mix of optimism and worry.

“We will obviously accept it,” Indian captain Rohit Sharma said during the post-match presentation.

“We head to Melbourne with the confidence that we can try to make things happen towards us.”

India were eighth for no loss when tea was called early due to dim lighting, with the tourists 267 runs away from victory at the Gabba.

Captain Pat Cummins had declared Australia’s second innings closed at 89 for seven to give India a target of 275 runs as dark clouds gathered.

Australia could be furious with the weather, having struggled hard for a winning position as rain spoiled four of the five days.

“Unfortunately there’s a lot of rain, which we can’t do anything about…I’m really proud of the way the guys played,” Cummins said.

“We were ahead of the game… We almost checked every box we could.”

Travis Head was named Player of the Match after scoring 152 in Australia’s first innings, having also scored a big hundred in the hosts’ second Test victory in Adelaide.

While Steve Smith also scored a century in a return to form, Australia put 445 on the board in the first innings and concluded India’s reply for 260 in the first hour of the fifth day by capturing the last wicket of Akash Deep for 31.

REGRETS

Australia will have some regrets, however, particularly the selectors’ decision to drop Scott Boland for recalled speedy Josh Hazlewood, who suffered a calf injury early on day four and left the hosts short-handed.

Smith may also regret giving up the easier catches at slips to give KL Rahul a reprieve in the first ball of the same day. Rahul, in his 30s, when spared, made a vital 84 and helped India stay in the fight.

With Hazlewood out of action, Australia’s overwrought attack failed to keep India following, with Deep and Jasprit Bumrah combining for a heroic 10th-wicket stand that pushed their team to safety.

India will feel like they have the upper hand on day five, having taken the top spot from Australia.

Looking for quick runs, Australia crashed to 33 for five as Deep and Bumrah bowled out the top four for single-digit scores.

Travis Head and Alex Carey (19 not out) briefly stemmed the bleeding with a 27-run partnership before Mohammed Siraj, Head’s best, was out for 17.

Cummins made 22 off 10 balls before becoming Bumrah’s third wicket and declared five balls later.

Australia’s hopes of forcing a result were always hostage to the weather and made very slim by Hazlewood’s injury.

There are also concerns over the fitness of all-rounder Mitchell Marsh after he bowled just two overs in the match.

India have their own problems, with Rohit facing fresh questions over his place in the team after scoring 10 runs at the Gabba.

Batting at six, he has 19 runs in three innings in the series, while Virat Kohli has made just 21 since his stirring hundred in the series-opening win in Perth.

Ashwin, dropped for Brisbane, announced his retirement from international cricket just after the finish on Wednesday, ending a glittering career that produced 537 wickets from 106 Tests at an average of 24.00.

While there is still plenty of cricket left to be played, Indian fans may wonder if Rohit and Kohli could soon follow Ashwin through the exit doors, or if they have enough in store to contribute to a third consecutive triumph in Australia.