Aaron Finch’s explosive debut season in the international one-day arena has been eye-catching to say the least.
The 26-year-old debuted against Sri Lanka in January, making a tentative 16 off 28 balls while being outshone by opening partner Phil Hughes, who scored 112.
But since then, and especially after his inclusion in Australia’s post-Ashes ODI series against England, Finch has stolen the spotlight.
The fact that he has lifted from his domestic form says everything about how he has approached the international game.
For Victoria, Finch strikes the ball at a very healthy rate of 87 runs per 100 balls.
For Australia? He ups it to 93, with two half-centuries and a top score of 148 to go with it.
And that’s not mentioning the impact it’s had in Twenty20, including his record 156 against England in August.
In the ongoing ODI tour of India, Finch has quickly emerged as the prized scalp among the home bowlers – lest he get set and unleash a barrage of boundaries.
Teammate Shane Watson says the step up in quality has been behind the feisty right-hander’s rise in form this year.
“This environment has really just got the best out of him so far,” Watson said.
“He’s been amazing since he’s come in.
“Even in England, when he first came in and played the Twenty20, he got 150-odd.
“It’s exciting to watch – to be able to see someone hit the ball as clean as he does.
“He’s a very powerful batsmen. It will be exciting to see him come off for the last couple of games as well because it certainly gives us a great start.”
Finch’s aggressive style has some dreaming of a day when he could team up with the equally devastating David Warner to form one of Test cricket’s most powerful opening combinations.
But for the man himself, he’s still focused on the task at hand and is actually disappointed with some aspects of his game in India.
“We’re both (Finch and Hughes) very disappointed we haven’t gone on for a match-winning opening partnership,” Finch told AAP.
“A bit like the one in Jaipur for India where they put the game to bed as the openers (as India chased 360 to win with nine wickets to spare).
“Our aim is to win a game for Australia and we’ve put ourselves in good positions for the team to be able to achieve that but we feel as though we haven’t taken it upon ourself to really do that.
“And I think that’s been reflected in all of our scores.”
They have two more chances to do it, starting with game six in Nagpur on Wednesday.