Washout after Australia make 295

Match abandoned Australia 295 for 8 (Bailey 98, Maxwell 92, Shami 3-42) v India 27 for 0

George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell put on 153 for the fifth wicket in 22.4 overs © BCCI

Smart stats MS Dhoni led India for the 146th time in an ODI. He joins Sourav Ganguly at second place in the list of captains to lead India in most ODIs. Mohammad Azharuddin leads the list with 174 ODIs as captain. George Bailey has scored 318 runs in this series - the most by any Australia captain in a bilateral ODI series. The previous best was 295 runs by Ricky Ponting against West Indies in 2010. Overall, AB de Villiers leads the list with 367 runs from five matches in South Africa's bilateral ODI series against Pakistan earlier this year. The 153-run partnership between Bailey and Glenn Maxwell is Australia's highest for the fifth wicket against India and the fifth-highest for them against any team in ODIs. Australia have hit 38 sixes in this series - the most sixes ever hit by the side in a bilateral ODI series. They beat their previous best of 34 sixes in a series, also against India, in 2007. With three matches still to be played, they are likely to beat the record for the most sixes hit by a team in a bilateral series - 40 by West Indies against New Zealand in 2012. Maxwell and Bailey were both out in the nineties, only the seventh instance of two or more batsmen in an innings getting out in the nineties. This was the third such instance for Australia.

Unseasonal rain in Ranchi washed out the fourth ODI after 4.1 overs of India's chase, ensuring the series moved 2-1 in favour of Australia to Cuttack, which was experiencing more inclement weather. There had been a brief shower soon after the match began, but it dissipated to allow Australia to complete their innings. The second instalment was heavier and prolonged, and though it relented with enough time to squeeze in a 20-over chase, the umpires ruled the outfield had been rendered too soggy to allow any play.

Before the damp end, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell had revived Australia from 32 for 3 with a massive fifth-wicket stand following Mohammed Shami's opening burst. However, their dismissals in the batting Powerplay robbed the visitors of a 300-plus total for the first time in the series, albeit narrowly. Bailey and Maxwell added 153 in 22.4 overs but after both fell in their nineties to Vinay Kumar, Australia's lower order was able to add only 57 in the last ten overs.

Shami's sharp first spell had challenged Australia for the first time in the series with the new ball. The attack, however, lacked the same intensity afterwards. India also put down five catches, and only a couple of them were tough takes. Bailey was put down first ball off Shami by Virat Kohli at third slip, and on 35 by R Ashwin off Vinay, both takeable chances. Maxwell was dropped on 44 by Yuvraj Singh off Jaydev Unadkat, a rather difficult diving opportunity at point, before MS Dhoni reprieved him on 69 behind the stumps off Suresh Raina.

Bailey went on to make his third half-century of the series and India were fortunate to see his back two short of a century, when he top-edged a Vinay long hop. Maxwell kicked on from the cameos he has been getting to inflict punishment on India with a 77-ball 92 before falling lbw.

Bailey and Maxwell hardly allowed the spinners to settle, and were also presented with regular long hops. India weren't able to exert pressure at all on the duo, who turned the strike over consistently. Vinay delivered an entire opening over of gentle looseners, and Bailey drove and pulled him for three boundaries. Maxwell was given plenty of leg-side offerings to indulge in his quick-arm powerful swing. He countered Ashwin's line from round the wicket, powering him for successive reverse-swept boundaries, the first of which went for six.

After India sent the duo back, Dhoni didn't give the ball to any of his seamers, opting for spin for nine of the last ten overs before he brought back Shami for the last one. Australia 's lower order, tied down by Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, promptly took 12 off it, despite atleast three deliveries finding the blockhole.

Bowling at a testing length at pace and generating movement under some cloud cover, Shami had delivered an opening spell of 6-1-21-3. The lowest opening stand for Australia had been 68 so far this series. Shami sent back the openers by the sixth over, and also claimed Shane Watson. India's decision to play a fresh new-ball pair in place of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had paid off. They even managed to avoid leaking runs at the death, but Bailey and Maxwell caused considerable damage in the middle.

When the chase began, Mitchell Johnson sent down a couple of menacing overs filled with bouncers to let India know they were set for a testing evening. Shikhar Dhawan countered by charging and hitting Clint McKay for a couple of fours. And then the rain arrived. Dhoni said after the abandonment that India would have been happy with a 20-over chase with all wickets intact, which would have meant a target around 150. The rain, however, wasn't ready to allow an ODI to be decided by a T20 innings.

Abhishek Purohit is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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