Dhoni: It depended on the first 15 overs, if we didn't lose too many wickets the wicket would have become better to bat on. Shami is deceptive. He bowls quicker that you think. What was important was he bowled full and the wickets he got, he was hitting the bails. And in the death he was getting the yorkers in pretty consistently. I know they will come back strong. At times it happens, some of the stadiums it is difficult to sight the ball. Well we have to find the right moment, with the fifth fielder inside, and the opposition looking to get over 300 and without much turn, Raina would have been a gamble. But this was the best game for him and he bowled well, knowing his limitations. The weather is not in our control. To some extent you are a bit disappointed, but whatever result it was we have to accept it. We wouldn't have minded a 20 over game with the start we had and with the water on the fielde

Bailey: Could have been a reasonably good game of cricket. We snuck away with the bat, thanks to Maxwell's innings. There was a little bit of swing and seam and he assessed the conditions well, especially considering he had to bat longer than he is normally used to. I was lucky with a few drops, but yeah, things went well with hte bat. We fancied our chances, with the pitch stiff giving a bit of seam and pace and Mitch was getting it to go. It's obviously important to be in the lead in any series and hopefully we'll get to Cuttack and get a good game in and get a win

8.43pm Tweets are pouring in saying the match is called off. Umpire's inspection has determined the ground is too water logged to continue the match. So Australia preserve their lead in the series with India's bid to overcome the visitors becoming that much more difficult. But on the bright side, India will retain their No. 1 status even if Australia win all the remaining matches. Presentation coming up in a few mintues

It was looking to be an interesting chase, with the openers looking to attack at one end and Johnson steaming in from the other. Prior to that, George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell's counterattack had led Australia to the cusp of 300. For India, Mohammed Shami highly impressive in his first spell and the spinners were quite efficient in the death.

So the fat lady has sung at Ranchi, folks. Do join us for the next game at Cuttack and hopefully we'll have a full match. Until then, this is Alagappan Muthu, signing off on behalf of Rohan Sharma and Gopi Rangarajan

Dev G: "When Wisden announces their "dream team", shouldn't they announce 22 instead of just XI? I mean who is the dream team going to play against? Instead of coming up with a "dream team", it should be more like a "dream match". No?"

adhithya s r: "Why Gilchrist??? I would be wondering more why Ponting was not included... But saying that this has to be the one"

Raj: "@Nanda "I feel the same but little different. Only one match might get washed and Tendulkar get stuck at 199 like Bradman got stuck at 99 which says that they are just short of being perfect.""

Tony Dosen: "Here is the announcement by Wisden of their all time world XI to mark their 150th anniversary - J.B.Hobbs, W.G.Grace, D.G.Bradman (c), S.R.Tendulkar, I.V.A.Richards, G.S. Sobers, A.Knott (w/k), W.Akram, S.K.Warne, M.Marshall, S.F.Barnes...all up not a bad side having to cover 150 years as a World XI over tha whole period - but no room for M.Muralitharan or B.C.Lara or A.C.Gilchrist or R.J.Hadlee - this is always good for a debate - any thoughts folks? !1"

8.30pm Covers are coming off, possibly for the Umpire's inspection in five minutes

8.20pm As these very vital debates rage on, We have word that an inspection by the Umpires is scheduled for 8.35pm. Again, the cut-off time for the match to resume is 9.10pm to make up 20 overs and the target for India would be 150.

Nandakiran: "@saket : What? HE averages around 50 in SA! He is one of the very finest Indian batsman in SA as compared to others among fab 4 who averages around 30."

Shailesh: "India is having a great advantage here if its 20 over and 150 to score. It would be same scenario anyway had that been a 50 over match but the only difference would be they would have lost atleast 5 wickets and the targets would have been difficult."

Vijay: "Wish McDonalds give free fish burger - McGill with McChicken!"

srudrago: "@Narbavi..yes, team looking to preserve wickets and make match boring would lose the match and team entertaining through out would remain winner. Also, many of the times I like to watch my team batting and take break for 4 hours altogether. Having two innings would force me to follow whole match."

Tayyeb: "If McDonalds were to offer an angry chicken burger it would be called 'McG-rath'"

Saket: "@Nanda: No. Because his record in SA is really bad and a farewell in SA will highlight that. In my mind, SA was 'Final Frontier' for him and he should have taken that last challenge."

Pundari: "@Kaushik; How about free melon with every McChicken - Mcmillan. Not a bad combination isn't it."

8.10pm It's getting closer and closer to that mark of 9.15pm. Play has to start by then for a 20-over innings to happen, which is required to comprise a full match. The target for India would be 150.

Aniruddha: "if Mcdonalds temporarily stop offering anything free with McChicken, then we would call it McDormant"

Kaushik: "@Gopal- And a free key that McDonalds offers wiith every McChicken would be Mckay, right?"

Vivek: "@Narbavi: Srudrago only said we would know the winner by that time. He dint say about finding the better team."

"I am certain that you don't have the guts to publish this. Imagine the next test series in India getting washed out due to heavy rains and cyclone. Will HE then go to SA to bid goodbye? :P" Think again, Nanda

8.00pm Word from the ground is that it is still slightly drizzling

Graham: "Could you please clarify the implications for Australia if the Duckworth-Lewis method is applied? Would India's run-chase target be relatively easy (because Australia lost so many wickets) or hard (because Australia scored 300-odd runs in 50 overs)?" India would need 150 to win in 20 overs. That's that.

Narbavi: "@Srudrago: That would be unfair, both teams would be looking to preserve wickets to have a go in the second part of the game, so can't decide who is better on that basis."

Gopal: "Amongst all this dreary rain , I have got good news for fast food fans. McDonalds now offers a free pen with every McChicken. Its called McCullum."

"I am giving live update from Barabati stadium In cuttack and getting drenched in rain and my comment is still not getting published. I have to drown now ?" Thanks for the update, Adarsh. You should take some cover now.

srudrago: "I think two innings proposal of SRT for one-days would work to decide the winner in these situations. We would have had the winner already as 50 overs are already played."

Dev: "Forgive the unpleasant hypothesis, but if today is washed out, do the Aussies have any chance for ODI Rank # 1?" Nope, they had to win by a 6-1 margin. If the game is rained out, that won't happen

7.30pm The covers are highly water logged and the groundstaff are mopping things up as best as they can. Two super soppers are busy at work as well. The rain is being fickle, picking up as I type this. It has reduced quite considerably from before though. Prospects of play remain dim and the best possible scenario now is a 20-over game, though official word is yet to come through. Again, for that to happen play has to start by 9.10pm

siddhant: "If the match is abandoned today, then there is little chance that we would have a full match in Cuttack as it has been raining hard in the last 4-5 days. Indians should not expect any better at Cuttack given the area was hit by a Cyclone very recently..."

7.20pm There has been a marginal relent in rain, but don't get excited just yet. Mohandas Menon tweets: If in case any play will be possible India's target will be 150 in 20 overs, which means a further 123 runs in 15.5 overs to win

7.05pm If play resumes by 7.20pm, the full quota overs is possible. After that, however, overs start getting cut off. They have until 10.15pm to bowl the 20 overs required to make up a full match, So play has to start by 9.15pm. Should that not be possible, it might well be called off

vicky: "i am a ranchite .. usualy here this kind of rain doesnt stop, it may even rain the whole night......but who knows.."

6.54pm Very little info trickling in, but it seems rain is still preventing play. We will be back with you as soon as live coverage starts Correction, the rain is bucketing down in Rachi, with the spectators running for cover. Alan Wilkins confirms: Not looking good here at Ranchi. Raining heavily. No word yet on when the match will resume. Looks like we'll have to sit tight and wait.

6.18pm And a very thin shower forces the players off the field now. My fellow commentator, Rohan Sharma, says rain came down in the first innings with Australia at 28 for 2. India now are 27 for 0. Mother Nature must like symmetry

Ram: "Faulkner is always looking to 'Take out' someone, be it Ishant, Rohit or Haddin :)"

As we wait for Mitchell Johnson to possibly take one of the Indian batsmen's heads off, here's a unique opportunity to showcase your love for Sachin Tendulkar. Upload a snappy, entertaining two-minute video on the impact he has had on you. It could feature you imitating his mannerisms, or doing a spot of mimicry. Give us a tour of that room in your house dedicated to Tendulkar memorabilia or compose a song as a tribute to the retiring legend. You can draw your inspiration from Andy Zaltzman's one-of-its-kind fake news clip. Anything works, as long as it entertains.

Upload your video on Youtube and mail us the link at mysachinvideo@cricinfo.com. If we like your submission, we'll feature it on this page.

Please remember - your submission should not contain any TV footage, or any in-ground video shot during a cricket match. We will have to reject such submissions due to potential copyright violations.

Tejram: "@Siddharth: I prefer skill rather than aggression for picking up wicket in cricket"

Siddharth: "@Tejram: In that Prasad-Sohail incident, the aggression wasn't with the bowling. It was a gentle length ball and the wicket was more a result of Sohail's arrogance and loss in concentration, than any "aggression" in Prasad's bowling. I think what everyone is talking about here is aggression in the Indian bowling to TAKE a wicket, not the aggression AFTER taking a wicket!!"

Tejram: "@Dinesh: I don't know whether you remember Venkatesh Prasad and Amir Sohail's incident.. V Prasad had a mouthful to say when he picked up Amir's off stump.."

Aabhas: "The two most aggressive bowlers India has produced are both spinners - Kumble and Bhajji."

Ahad: "In every match India plays, I see Indian fans complaining about how ineffective their bowlers are. Whereas Pakistanis complain about how toothless their batting is. Let's make a combined XI with Pakistani bowlers and Indian batsmen (please not the other way around!) and make everyone happy :)"

SpiderCam: "When the fielder threw the ball to the Haddin, and if Rohit was out of his crease, would Haddin not attempt to run him out? IMO, the ball is not dead until it reaches the wicketkeepers gloves and the batsman is inside the crease." Yes, but Faulkner was not looking to run him out because he knew Rohit was back in the crease. The ball had gone dead and he was only returning the ball to the keeper.

Sahil Raveen: "It is not entirely the fault of Indian bowlers today. Fielding was the major worry today. Felt like the Indian team of 2000-2005. As the old adage goes catches win matches, let's see if India can pull this off which I believe they can with the best batting lineup in the world."

Dinesh: "@saravanan You will never see aggression from our Indian bowlers at any point of time"