Fast and the furious Adam

Gilchrist with his 'clean hitting' ton has only showed that T20 cricket is not only about going bonkers

How long could any team or the new format of cricket stop this genius? A player whose bat speed is similar to Michael Schumacher hustling in his Ferrari, Adam Gilchrist made the floodlights at DY Patil stadium feel embarrassed with his illuminated display of batting.

But most importantly his explosive exhibition gave everyone a reason to celebrate and enjoy cricket. With IPL in the eye of a storm, Adam's game surely has got people back to cricket.

After the 'un' cheerful cheerleaders drama and of course the Bhajji-Sree gate, Gilly brought the game of cricket to the fore. When Brendon McCullum plundered 158 runs against the Bangalore outfit, he was touted to be in the Gilly mould. But how is someone to fill shoes that are not empty.

Gilchrist showed he is still the player to watch out for. He proved that to play this version, one doesn't need to change their style or approach. On the contrary this format suited his way of playing.

He also showed why form is temporary and class is permanent. His 287 ODIs career gave him 9619 runs in 9922 balls at a staggering strike rate of 97.00. If you think scoring in Test matches was slow, hang on, Gilly plundered his 6796 runs at an incredible rate of 82 runs per 100 balls in 96 matches. All the figures substantiate one thing he is a man of all seasons. Let it be Test matches, ODI's or T20's, Gilly will remain Gilly.

To remind one and all, one of the most brutal Test cricket centuries in the history of the game was hit by Gilly. It was the third Test of the 2006-007 Ashes series in Australia at Perth. Gilly annihilated the English bowlers and showed little or no mercy in plundering 100 runs in 57 balls. He missed the record of the fastest test century by a ball which belonged to the cricket battings murderous legend Vivian Richards.

It is not surprising to see a player like him going around doing his job so easily. Wearing the white or coloured Pajama's is his least concern. The approach of the game is so ingenuous, 'hit the ball if you can'.

His exhilaration after hitting century at the DY Patil stadium showed that he is still enjoying the game. It was like a comeback century, his cheeks touched his eyes when he was smiling after hitting the ton.

The 50,000 plus Mumbai crowd had come in full support of their home team, Mumbai Indians and were expecting their God, Sachin Tendulkar to play. But to their disappointment neither Sachin played nor their team performed to meet even the minimum standards.

It was Gilly who gave them their money's worth. Every shot was worth a million dollar. After a point of time the crowd was all gung-ho about the former Australian champ.

To sum up we all are lucky to live and watch cricket's most breathtaking batsman-wicket-keeper executing these feats. There are Dhonis, McCullums, Bouchers and others, but there can only be one Gilly. Ask yourself and you will get the same answer.

s_gautam@dnaindia.net