Finch conquers Johnson's fear in Gujarat Lions' maiden IPL victory

Australia explosive opener Aaron Finch believes that he was able to overcome his fear of facing his former teammate Mitchell Johnson after guiding new franchise Gujarat Lions to their maiden win in the Indian Premier League.

Finch smashed a brilliant knock of 74 from mere 47 balls, including 17 runs off the 11 balls he faced from Johnson as the Lions claimed a five-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Monday.

Johnson, who retired from international cricket in November, was playing his first high-profile match in Mohali.

While saying that his heart starts racing every time he faces Johnson, the 29-year-old admitted that the fast bowler had 'terrorized' him in every net session while representing the home country in the past.

"He's someone who does tend to keep me up at night sometimes if you're playing against him down the track," Finch told reporters during the post-match press conference.

"It was just one of those days. The wicket was really nice for batting," he added.

Reflecting on his performance, the right-handed batsman said that he wanted to start the tournament well and insisted that he felt glad he was able to score runs in his side's winning cause.

"You want to start any tournament well and it was good get out there. It was disappointing to get out when I did but at the same time to put us in a winning position like that was really pleasing," said Finch.

Gujarat Lions, which won the bid of the new franchise for the next two editions of the IPL, brought Finch for USD 208,000, thus making it his sixth IPL franchise after playing with Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Daredevils, Pune Warriors, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians.