Rain at the SCG has ended the West Indies' run chase after just one over, washing out the tourists' hopes of a breakthrough victory over Australia in the third one-dayer.
Initially requiring 226 for their first win of the Australian summer, the Windies were 0-6 when rain forced the players from the field at 7.14pm local time.
They returned just over two hours later with the visitors chasing a revised figure of 151 from 24 overs, only for the rain to start falling again after just one ball.
Umpires officially abandoned the game at 9.28pm, with most of the crowd (21,784) having left.
Chris Gayle was yet to score after surviving six balls from his nemesis Doug Bollinger, with Travis Dowlin left at the non-striker's end without facing.
The runs came from four byes and two wides as Bollinger went all out to capture Gayle's scalp for the fifth time this summer and third time in as many one-day matches
The visitors needed to win to stay alive in the best-of-five series following heavy losses in Perth and Adelaide.
They now head off to Brisbane and then Melbourne hoping to square the series.
Winning the toss and asking Australia to bat first on a pitch holding up amid the threat of rain, the Windies finally got it right in the field to give themselves a real shot at ending Australia's dominance.
Michael Hussey (44 from 53 balls) and James Hopes (30 from 34) – and some lusty late hitting from Ryan Harris (21 from nine balls) – ensured the home side reached a reasonable total after a shaky start and late order crash.
Ravi Rampaul (4-61), Dwayne Smith (3-45), Darren Sammy (2-46) and Kieron Pollard (1-26) combined to dismantle an Australian battling line-up missing a number of key players.
Miserly spinner Nikita Miller (0-35 from 10) also deserves praise for keeping the brakes on the Australians during the middle stages of the innings.
Rain took the players from the field for 15 minutes midway through the session and may become the Windies' biggest enemy, with showers possible later in the evening.
But it was in brilliant sunshine that makeshift openers Tim Paine and Adam Voges made their way to the middle before a smallish crowd after Chris Gayle won the toss and somewhat surprisingly sent Australia into bat.
But the skipper's decision was soon vindicated.
Paine (16) was the first man out, playing across the line to Rampaul and turning to find his middle stump tilted back.
He was quickly joined in the pavilion by Voges (8), out lbw to Smith in contentious circumstances.
The Western Australian felt he'd edged the ball onto his pads, captain Ricky Ponting staring at umpire Billy Bowden incredulously after the crooked finger was raised.
That left the home side slightly vulnerable at 2-30.
Clarke and Ponting (22) threatened to wrest control back with a 48-run partnership before the skipper inside edged Sammy onto his middle stump.
It was then left to Clarke and White to take the total past 100, but only just.
With the score on 107, White's unconvincing innings came to an end.
The Victorian launched into an aggressive square cut on 17 and almost sliced the ball in half in presenting wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin with a simple catch.
The rain then came to temporarily halt the Windies' momentum, taking the players from the field for 15 minutes.
When the clouds cleared Hopes joined Hussey at