'It is go out, and hit from ball one' - Ricky Ponting delves into transformation of T20 cricket

Cricket started off as a game where the delicate balance between bat and ball was paramount, shaping strategies and outcomes. However, as T20 cricket gained momentum, it ushered in a new era characterized by explosive batting displays and innovative shot-making. In today's dynamic landscape, T20 cricket reigns supreme, with batters wielding unprecedented power and influence, reshaping the very essence of the sport. 

The current head coach of the Delhi Capitals and former Australian skipper, Ricky Ponting, professed that absurd scores such as 300 were never conceived by him as attainable. However, with the way it is panning out with batters getting more liberty to express themselves with more audacity than ever, the introducton of the Impact Player rule in the IPL since the past couple of seasons, and the reduction of dimensions of grounds all over the world, the Australian great felt even that milestone might be on the brink of getting penetrated through.

"I did not think a 300 score would ever be possible, but it looks like it's going to be," Ponting remarked in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.

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Further, Ponting shed light on the gradual cessation of the traditional settling-in period which batters in the past would employ, taking their time to get the hang of the pace, bounce or spin, before teeing off. He further remarked that nowadays, it is almost as if batters are instructed to start playing assertive shots right from the onset.

"There is no, you know, take five, six balls to get in and get set. It is go out, and hit from ball one," noted Ponting.

Mate, I am telling you, this is the future: Ponting recalls Matthew Hayden's prophecy

Sharing an interesting anecdote between former Australian teammate Matthew Hayden, and him back in the day, Ponting recounted the swashbuckling southpaw forcing his opinion on Ponting regarding T20 cricket being the future of cricket, which a classical purist of the likes of Ponting could never come to terms with.

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"Matthew Hayden kept saying to me: 'Mate, I am telling you, this is the future.' And I was like, 'No, it is not, mate.'," exclaimed Ponting.