Chennai, Nov. 11: Match tickets that were a precious commodity till Wednesday evening were strewn all over the DY Patil Stadium on match day. Navi Mumbai woke up to the harsh reality of a washout which was made official at around 5pm. The final series outcome, 4-2, just as it was in 2007 in favour of Australia.

The umpires did not even venture out of their climate-controlled rooms to make an inspection. The teams did not take the ground though Indian coach Gary Kirsten made an appearance well before the scheduled start.

Australia came to this city in 2007 with the series wrapped 4-1 and lost a cliff hanger in the seventh ODI to take the series 4-2. With this win Australia have got the better of India the last three times they have contested an ODI series here. In 2001 they had triumphed 3-2.

Incidentally both in 2001 and 2009 they were down 1-2 before going on to claim the series. The last time India beat Australia in a bilateral series was in 1896 when Kapil Dev led India to a 3-2 win.

The ground staff, volunteers and officials of the host venue were naturally disappointed at the washout. With the Wankhede Stadium set to be ready by the next season the chances for this venue to get an international fixture remain in doubt. And the sellout crowd were upset as their likely final chance to see Sachin Tendulkar in action in an international here went up in thin air.

A senior BCCI official confirmed that the spectators would not get a refund. It may be recalled that the Madras High Court had directed the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association to refund half the ticket value after an ODI between India and South Africa was washed out in 2006.

Though the match was not called off till 5pm, the writing was clear with the broadcasting crew de-rigging from as early as 4pm. The ground boasts of the most modern drying equipment and Abey Kuruvilla, cricket in-charge, was optimistic of a start if the rain stopped at some point. Unfortunately it was not to be as the skies remained unrelenting. Following his impressive performances, Shane Watson was named man of the series.