New Delhi: On a day when everything else took a backseat after India skipper Anil Kumble suddenly decided to call it a day, India’s ever dependable middle-order thwarted Australia’s ambitious bid to force a result in the third Test match at the Kotla on Sunday.

While all the Indian batsmen chipped in with good scores, Sourav Ganguly (32 not out) went past former Australia captain Greg Chappell’s Test score of 7110 when he reached 19.

Ganguly achieved the feat in style and was greeted by an appreciative crowd in the stands. The elegant southpaw, who was playing his last innings at the Kotla, stepped out and hit Michael Clarke over the long on for a huge six that landed near the sightscreen.

The former Indian captain, who could manage only five in the first innings, came after the fall of Tendulkar’s wicket and enthralled the crowds with some fluent strokes. He hit some breathtaking boundaries, the one off Shane Watson through point being the most spectacular.

In the end, India, who were overnight 43 for two, batted their way to 208 for five and declared 40 minutes after tea leaving Australia to score 245 to win in 23 overs. Australia scored 31 for no loss and expectedly, the match petered out into a tame draw, the first at the Kotla in eight Tests.

On Saturday, Michael Clarke promised to go on the offensive on the final day to infuse some life into the match. The Australians did exactly the same in the early hours as Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson all put in threatening spells in a final attempt to secure a result.

In the process, the visitors did manage to capture a couple of wickets in the pre-lunch session to reduce the home side to 99 for 4 at lunch but the effort was not enough to give a new twist to the fate of the match.

The Australians also tried verbal volleys at the Indian batsmen, attempting to unsettle them after first innings star Gautam Gambhir (36) was sent back to the pavilion. In the 39th over, there was an exchange of words between pacer Johnson and V.V.S. Laxman. Umpire Aleem Dar too stepped in and had a talk with Ricky Ponting.

India started on a bright note scoring at a brisk pace. Gambhir hit the first ball of the day for the boundary while Rahul Dravid hit another four in the next over. But once the Aussies tightened the noose, runs came at a snail’s pace.

It was under this pressure that India lost Dravid in the eighth over of the day as he tried to drive away from his body and edged a Brett Lee delivery on to his stumps to leave India at 53 for three.

Spurred by the success, the Australians bowled with renewed vigour. However Tendulkar (47) was hardly troubled, and unfurled the old sweet drives to display his class. He and Gambhir would have taken the home side to lunch but the Indian opener was controversially adjudged leg before by Dar, who failed to accurately gauge the inswing of the Johnson delivery.

Like in the first innings, the Australians once again failed to solve the Laxman riddle. The Hyderabad right-hander came good again when the visitors were looking for inroads to try and pull off an improbable win.