Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden
The opening duo of Australia’s invincible team in the nineties was one of cricket’s most destructive pairs. On their day, which was on most days, they went out to perform their jobs with ruthlessness rarely seen on the cricket field. Both aggressive left-handers, Gilchrist and Hayden never meant to deal in half-measures and went all out against any bowling attack.
5372 runs in 114 innings, put them at the top half on the list of highest partnership runs. 16-century partnerships, 29 half-century partnerships and a breathtaking average of over 48 at almost run a ball, hold testimony to how successful this batting pair was.
More importantly, they were phenomenal at the World Cups too, especially in 2003. The phenomenal duo had a 50+ average away from home, making them a high-quality opening pair anywhere in the world. Like Sachin Tendulkar who formed productive partnerships with both Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag, Gilchrist too had partnered very successfully with two batsmen in Mark Waugh and Hayden.
Hayden and Gilchrist featured in 87 Australian victories, in which they garnered 15-century partnerships at the top.