Daniel Vettori had no complaints over New Zealand's near-miss for a first one-day series win in Australia, but he was disappointed the rain did not stay away for a couple more overs. Martin Guptill's breath-taking 64, which came from only 34 balls, pushed the tourists to 33 short of their target of 156 with six overs remaining when the weather closed in again.
Guptill and the debutant Brendon Diamanti, who was 26 not out, still had the batting Powerplay in hand before the rain. The untimely cloud burst forced the match to be abandoned and allowed Australia to keep the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after the 2-2 series result.
"It's an odd feeling," Vettori said. "You wanted to see the game pan out to get a result because it could have been a really good game. It probably would have come down to the Powerplay, so it's a strange feeling. We're happy with the overall 2-2, but still would have loved a chance to win the series."
Only the fantastic draining powers of the Gabba allowed the match to start, but New Zealand had the worst of the batting conditions after beginning their chase in light rain. "It just became too hard, the rain," Vettori said. "You could see the umpires wanted to stay out there to get a result, but it was too hard."
There was further pain for the visitors with injuries to Kyle Mills and Ross Taylor in the greasy conditions. The game was delayed by more than five hours and Mills hurt his right Achilles during his opening spell of 2 for 33.
Mills will fly home on Saturday and miss Sunday's Twenty20 at the SCG, with Diamanti taking his spot in the squad. Taylor is also doubtful for the last match of the tour after hurting his hamstring and requiring treatment the ball before he holed out to Mitchell Johnson on 4.
The Australians had Brad Haddin's 88 and Callum Ferguson's 55 to thank for their competitive total of 4 for 168, which was reduced to 155 when two overs were cut because of more rain. Ponting grew frustrated towards the end of a "topsy-turvy game" but was satisfied to have taken the trophy.
"It was right in the balance actually when the heavy rain came," Ponting said. "At the same time we felt if we grabbed one more wicket the momentum would have swung back in our favour."