Twenty20s on par with Tests - Gilchrist

Purists may think Twenty20 is a watered-down version of cricket but Adam Gilchrist has said the game's shortest format is as intense as Test cricket. He said Twenty20 matches are difficult as they don't provide a chance for teams to recover from mistakes.

"I think Twenty20 cricket applies more pressure on the players," PTI quoted him as saying. "It is at par with Test cricket simply because in Twenty20s it is a real battle of wits.

"… It is like a game where whoever blinks first could end up paying the ultimate price. There is just no time to make a mistake," he said after clobbering a 35-ball 85 to take Deccan Chargers into the finals of the IPL. "In a Test match, if you make a mistake you get time and the opportunity to resurrect. I think that is the beauty of the game. It can be played in different formats but the basic constituents of the game remain the same."

Gilchrist termed his innings on Friday the "best knock of his Twenty20 career". He hammered five boundaries in the first over when chasing Delhi Daredevils' 153, and his sustained onslaught took Deccan to 84 for 1 after six overs, the highest score in the Powerplays this season.

He was dismissed just before the strategic time-out, and was disappointed that he couldn't stay till the end and to have missed out on a century. "It is surely disappointing to get out before the break. I should have seen the side home," he said. "You think after 15 years of international cricket you would have learnt something for sure, apparently not."

Deccan await the winner of the second semi-final between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers in Sunday's final in Johannesburg.