A 19th victory on the trot couldn't quite materialise for Australia as India chased down 331 in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) at the Sydney Cricket Ground to manage a consolation win. Steven Smith, the skipper, was not as critical of Australia's performance in the final game on Saturday (January 23) as he was of the pitches used in the five-match series.

Four matches, including the fifth ODI, saw both teams score in excess of 300. The third ODI, which Australia won to take an unassailable lead, saw a target of 296 being reached. A total of 3159 runs were scored in the ODI series while only 61 wickets were taken by either teams. Smith had no qualms in admitting that the tracks were unlike Australian pitches and he showered his bowlers with praise for delivering on such unhelpful wickets.

"It was quite remarkable, wasn't it, to see more than 3000 runs scored in five one day international matches," said Smith, while speaking to the media after the fifth ODI. "For me, the most disappointing thing was the characteristics of our wickets. I'd like to see the Gabba and the WACA produce the traditional fast and bouncy wickets that we used to. I thought they were pretty slow and benign. It was very difficult for the bowlers. I was really proud of our bowlers throughout this series though. They really stepped up at pivotal times. We've got quite a few bowlers out at the moment and a young inexperienced attack, and we were able to pull it back in every game, including tonight."

Australia rode on fine hundreds from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh to post a total of 330 for 7 in the fifth ODI. However, Rohit Sharma's superb 99 and Manish Pandey's (104*) calm innings in a tense finish meant that the hosts could not hand India a whitewash.

There were a few chances missed and the Indians capitalised on that to bring down the equation to 35 off the last three overs. Marsh, who was handed the ball for the 48th over and the final over, conceded 13 runs off both overs that saw India win with two deliveries to spare and in doing so, the visitors became the first team to successfully chase down a 300+ total against Australia in Australia.

"Probably a bit of both," said Smith, pointing out that Australia scoring only seven runs in the last two overs that they batted and the missed chances in the second innings, cost them the game. "What did we get, seven off the last two overs. We should have got a little bit better than that. We were in a pretty good position; we had some wickets in the shed as well. You probably want to score a few more off the last few overs."

"Having said that, I think it was our fielding that cost us quite a lot tonight. We dropped a couple of regulation chances and when you drop players like that they're going to come back and bite you," added Smith, referring to Rohit being dropped twice and also Dhoni being reprieved early in his innings.

The Indian limited-overs captain contributed with a crucial 34 and was involved in an important 94-run stand for the fourth wicket with Pandey. With 13 required off the final over, Dhoni eased the pressure with a six off the opening delivery, and although he got out in the same over, Pandey remained till the end to see the team over the line.

When asked if Australia had any specific plans for Dhoni, Smith said: "I guess for us it was always a little but different. I think you've got to try and not be too predictable to MS. You've to try and get him out most of all. We got a chance tonight, which we didn't take and that was probably a little bit of a turning point in the game. We're able to build a little bit of pressure on him when he first came to the crease, and get a few dots on him as we're trying to take a wicket.

"We know if he there's for long enough, he's an extremely dangerous player. We've seen throughout his own career, he's gotten India over the line on numerous occasions. He finds the boundary at the right time. For him to hit a six off the first ball off the last over and that really got the team home, I guess," Smith said.

The Australian skipper also had a word of praise for Marsh for his batting performance and hoped that he would continue in the same vein in the future. "Any time you get a hundred, you get some confidence out of it. I guess the most pleasing thing for me today was the way he started. I thought he was nice and positive from ball one. He hit the ball hard down the ground, he hit his sweepers, he got himself in. We know when he gets himself in he's got incredible power and we saw that tonight. Hopefully it's the start of something really special from Mitchell."