[2] The match at Brisbane was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to heavy rain, preventing the series decider from taking place.
After a decidedly unsuccessful Test series against Australia, a New Zealand victory was considered unlikely, with bookmakers odds heavily favouring the home side.
Australia began proceedings with opening partners Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden reaching 50 runs before the end of the seventh over.
This partnership was ended in spectacular fashion, with Hayden attempting a strong pull shot which looked to be heading straight for the boundary.
Cairns' insertion into the bowling attack sparked a collapse in the Australian middle order, which in the space of 18 balls lost 4 wickets for just 10 runs.
Darren Lehmann second top-scored with 50 runs and he, together with the struggling efforts of the lower order batsmen, brought Australia to a respectable 9/246 after 50 overs.
New Zealand began the run chase in a tenuous fashion, losing the wicket of captain Stephen Fleming LBW for a duck after less than one minute.
Chris Cairns was brought into the attack to attempt to slow the run rate, but it took the bowling of Scott Styris to remove Gilchrist from the batting crease, caught by Nathan Astle.
It was in Ponting's innings that New Zealand's veteran bowler Chris Harris, in saving four runs, dove to his left, landed awkwardly on his shoulder and tore his rotator cuff, in his 250th ODI.
Two bowlers, Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori, were then the batsmen for New Zealand, and had the task of getting nearly 100 runs in less than 13 overs, with only the shoulder sling-sporting Chris Harris left to bat if either of them was dismissed.