The veteran wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel was one of the youngest cricketers to make his international debut. He was only 18 years when he travelled down under to rub shoulders with the legends of the game. The veteran recently recalled an incident when Mathew Hayden wanted to punch him on his face.
Parthiv was well-known for always chirping from behind the wicket to get under the skins of the batsmen. However, there was one instance when he got the better of former Aussie opener Matthew Hayden. Chasing a stiff target of 304 against India in Brisbane in 2004, the Aussie batsman slammed a century before getting out to Irfan Pathan.
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Hayden’s wicket proved too costly for the home side as India ended up winning the match by 19 runs. Parthiv Patel, new into the Indian side, made fun of Matthew Hayden moments after he got out. After getting dismissed, Hayden was in no mood for fun and Parthiv got to know that in the most hostile manner.
“I was carrying drinks in Brisbane, it was the match in which Irfan Pathan got him out. He had already scored a hundred and it was a crucial stage when Irfan got him out. I was just passing him by and I did a ‘hoo hoo’ to him,” Parthiv said during an interaction on 100 hours 100 stars.
“He got so angry at me. He was standing at the Brisbane dressing room which is like a tunnel. He was standing there and said ‘if you do this again, I will punch your face’. I said ‘sorry’, I stood around and he went off,” he added.
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Since then a lot has happened and Parthiv Patel and Matthew Hayden went onto become good friends playing for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. Both of then opened the batting for the MS Dhoni-led side and brought a lot of success together.
“Yeah, Hayden wanted to beat me up in Brisbane. But we became good friends after that. We played a lot of cricket together at CSK,” Parthiv said.
“We enjoyed each other’s company. Even after the IPL finished, I went to Australia with an emerging side. Hayden called me home, prepared chicken biryani and dal for me,” Patel signed off.
