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Published on: Aug 13, 2025 10:46 am IST
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A former India opener spoke about his sledging incident involving Matthew Hayden.
Matthew Hayden played his cricket at a time when the Aussies were near-invincible in world cricket. Hayden made his Australia debut in 1993, but it wasn’t until his breakout series against India during the 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy that he enhanced his reputation as one of the most feared Test openers in the world and became a legend by the time he finished. In 2004, Hayden did what many thought was impossible – break Brian Lara’s previous world record of 375 when be bludgeoned 380 against Zimbabwe. It’s another thing that Lara climbed to the top again just later and became the first-ever individual batter to score 400 in Test cricket.
After burning up the charts with 549 runs from three Tests, Hayden entered a zone of his own. So much so that when India went to Australia for a return tour in 2003/04, Hayden was one of India’s most sought-after wickets. Hayden embodied the spirit of the ruthless Australia of that era, with Aakash Chopra narrating a never-before-heard incident.
“One day, Matthew Hayden sledged me even though I wasn’t part of the playing XI in that match. I asked him, ‘Why are you sledging me? I’ve just come onto the ground to field’. He asked if the pitch was going to turn. I replied, ‘You are the one batting, it’s your job to assess the pitch. I’m just here to field and will head back to the dressing room once I’m done’,” Chopra said on ‘The Cheeky Singles’ Show.
Matthew Hayden wasn’t finished there
The former Indian opener revealed that he was once sledged by Hayden even though he wasn’t part of the team. While Chopra did not mention the exact series or match, all signs point towards the 2004 series when Australia came to India and beat them 2-1. After scoring 0 and 5 in the series opener at Bengaluru, Chopra was dropped from the second Test in Chennai. He was back for the third match of the series in Nagpur but was axed again in Mumbai after returning scores of 9 and 1. Chopra mentioned Hayden’s sledging caught him off guard because it was totally unprovoked.
“It was completely unprovoked, but that’s the Australian way, it brings the best out of them. Hayden thrives on those moments on the field, and Australians set very high standards. Whatever happens on the ground stays there, and afterwards, they’re happy to share a drink,” he added.
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