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Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill? Matthew Hayden Picks His Favourite Opener

image-lo3ypc8rHayden has gone with Rohit as his first choice opener [X.Com]

Matthew Hayden lauded Rohit Sharma for his devastating assault on opposition attacks throughout the ICC World Cup 2023 and hailed the Indian opener as his favourite top-order partner from the ongoing tournament.

The Australian batting legend turned commentator said Rohit would be primed for success with him if he got the opportunity to share the opening stand with the veteran right-hander. Hayden believes as a left-hander he would form a perfect pairing with the swashbuckling Rohit among top-order options plying their trade at the marquee competition. 

In an interactive exercise for ESPNcricinfo, Hayden named Rohit as his preferred opening partner when asked who he reckons would be his favourite to open the innings among all the contemporary options.

Hayden, who formed a blistering stand with fellow Aussie great Adam Gilchrist in One-Day Internationals, based his judgement on Rohit after watching him blast opposition attacks against the new-ball as a valiant and impactful aggressor for India. 

Hayden Lauds Rohit Sharma 

Standing only second to numero uno legend Virat Kohli in the Indian run-chart, Rohit has smashed his 311 runs in five innings of the World Cup 2023 at an excellent strike rate of 133.47 while still averaging upwards of 60. 

Halfway through the tournament, the elegant right-hander holds the second-best rate of scoring among batters with 200 or more runs after South Africa's in-form middle-order batter Aiden Markram (141.37). 

Rohit has been ruffling opposition feathers right at the beginning of the innings and destroying their field settings and overall plans with the ball. Transforming into a match-winning aggressor from a solid anchor of his peak days, the 36-year-old stalwart has been virtually closing out games on bowling attacks at the top. 

After a disappointing start versus the Australians, Rohit smashed the inexperienced Afghanistan side for an imposing 131 off 84 deliveries and backed it up with a superlative 86 off 63 deliveries against arch-rivals Pakistan. 

The Indian batter fell short of much-deserved fifties in the last two games versus Bangladesh and New Zealand but his quickfire cameos were again key to the tournament hosts continuing their winning streak.