Flying start eased pressure on the middle-order: Ravindra Jadeja

The purists might be worried about the impact of Twenty20 on players’ technique but Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja feels the format has had no effect of the cricketers’ skills as they are well-trained to shift gears whenever required.

“Players adapt to the situation very quickly and I don’t think there would be any negative impact on players because of limited-overs cricket,” Jadeja said after his team Gujarat Lions’ seven-wicket win over Rising Pune Super Giants.

The Lions’ chased down a competitive 164 with Brendon McCullum (49) and Aaron Finch (50) being the star performers with the bat.

“Finch and McCullum are power-hitters and they gave us a flying start by adding 85 runs in less then nine overs that eased the pressure on the middle-order batsmen,” Jadeja said.

Finch and McCullum notched up 85 runs for the opening wicket. Finch made 50 off 36 balls with seven fours and two sixes while McCullum scored a 31-ball 49 with three fours and three sixes.

Jadeja said the openers made sure that there was no need to go for big shots.

“After getting a flying start from the openers, there was no need to go for a big shots,” Jadeja said.