The storyline at the end of the fifth one day international between Australia and hosts New Zealand was the same when the series began. Australia scripted a picture-perfect climax to the 'Operation Overwhelm' that left New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming flabbergasted and at a loss for words. Australia are not finished yet, with the Test series sneaking up behind rather quickly.

Australia have a funny knack of pulling out players who know just when to turn the heat on. While Matthew Hayden deflected the selectors' dilemmas with a stupendous performance a couple of matches ago, it was Adam Gilchrist's turn to turn it on with a thunderous sixty-one ball ninety-one that included nine powerful hits to the fence and six way beyond the boundary line. While Australia all guns blazing, the 400 target would looking ominous and there was little New Zealand had by way of restraint to curb the assault.

Gilchrist overshadowed his skipper's equally unassailable effort until he drove one from Tama Canning straight to Craig Cumming at cover. That brought Ricky Ponting's belligerence to the fore as the skipper changed gears. Ten boundaries and five magnificent sixes including two off the last two balls of the innings highlighted the majesty. He was well supported by brilliant little cameos by Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke, especially during the late assault towards the end of the innings. It was a remarkable effort that Daniel Vettori walked away conceding a mere thirty-seven runs from his allotted ten overs when none fared the better or should one say, competed for the title of the most horrendous bowling performance yet to date.

New Zealand were out on a limb chasing a gargantuan 347 and losing Chris Cairns to a hamstring injury during the Australian innings. The fact that Craig McMillan were the only player to go beyond the half-century mark and that too at a fair clip despite the slim resources spoke volumes of the batting disaster in the New Zealand camp. There were thirty-plus knocks by Stephen Fleming, James Marshall and Brendon McCullum, but that was never going to aid New Zealand to avoid a humiliating whitewash at home. While Brett Lee continues his consistent fiery outing since his lack-of-opportunity debacle in the Test series in the last year, Michael Kasprowicz made most of underlining his value with a three wicket haul in a miserly spell.

No one said playing Australia was going to be easy but New Zealand have been sent to the gallows after being considered one of the few to really test the mettle of the world champions. Needless to say, this series left a lot to be desired for the hosts and put a lot of pressure and little inspiration ahead of another gruelling Test match series.