By IANS
Melbourne : Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist has never been a fan of the newest version of cricket but after his last Twenty20 international against India here Friday, the wicketkeeper-batsman said Twenty20 will an important part of cricket in the future.
Gilchrist, who during the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa last year had said that he would rather watch than play a Twenty20 match, was a happy man as he ended his Twenty20 career with Australia’s nine-wicket win over India.
The 36-year-old has already retired from the Tests and will also end his one-day career after the triangular series starting Sunday.
“India have come good on us in the past. So it feels nice to pull one from them and to end my last Twenty20 match with a win. I had an exciting time, even though it was a lopsided match. It was a great entertainment for the people,” said Gilchrist of the win, which was Australia’s first Twenty20 win over India.
“Twenty20 is the entertainment part of cricket. It is a new format for lot of countries. Even Indians are not that familiar, but they have performed really well. All credit goes to them. Twenty20 is going to be important for cricket in future,” he added.
Gilchrist then went out to thank the 84,0000 strong crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), adding that his team’s performance in their first win over the Twenty20 World Champions was “outstanding”.
“The crowd was amazing. It was just like when Sachin (Tendulkar) walks down to bat in India. I enjoyed batting here. Our bowlers did a good job. It was a slow wicket, not meant for playing shots. I think the size of the ground really surprised the Indians. But the bowling and fielding particularly of our guys was outstanding. The pressure was off from us in the batting,” he said.
Gilchrist also had words of praise for Michael Clarke, who captained the side in injured Ricky Ponting’s absence.
“Michael Clark’s fielding was outstanding. Tactically he was very good on the field .We got a glimpse of the future, watching him captain the side today,” he said
Gilchrist added that he is now focusing on the forthcoming one-day series.
“India and Sri Lanka are very competitive sides. I am looking forward to a good challenge in the one-day series,” he said.