Rohit bats like he's reclining on leather lounge chair with cup of coffee in hands: Hayden

After India suffered a crushing 10-wicket defeat in the Adelaide pink-ball Test against Australia, former opener Matthew Hayden has come into the defence of skipper Rohit Sharma after a string of underwhelming performances. Despite failing in both innings, Sharma's batting style and technique attracted huge praise from the former Australian cricketer.

India's batting collapse on Day 3 led to their fourth consecutive Test loss under Rohit's captaincy, equaling the record for the most successive defeats by an Indian captain. This record places Rohit alongside Datta Gaekwad, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli. Despite such setbacks, Hayden mentioned the challenges of the pink ball and the unplayable deliveries faced by the 37-year-old.

"One remark quickly on Rohit Sharma. He plays cricket like he's sitting on a leather lounge chair and reclining with a cup of coffee in his hands. You've got to admire the different styles that arrive at Test cricket. Virat Kohli, very hard at the ball, a busy player, really wants to get amongst it. Rohit Sharma's too easy," Hayden said on Star Sports.

He's more in the category of the Mark Waugh's, the Shubman Gills: Matthew Hayden

Meanwhile, Matthew Hayden lauded Rohit Sharma’s effortless approach to batting. He compared the 'Hitman' with the likes of Mark Waugh and Shubman Gill. Besides, the former Australia batting legend also opened up on Rohit’s dismissals, stating that they were high-quality deliveries under the conditions of the pink-ball Test. 

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"He's more in the category of the Mark Waugh's, the Shubman Gills. They make cricket look easy they make cricket look easy. It's very easy for us that makes it as well to make the comments around, well, that was a soft way to get out. But it's the one thing that we actually admire the most about someone like Rohit Sharma who seemingly does have a lot of time to play," the former Australia batter continued.

Australia's win was guided by Travis Head’s 140. The southpaw's quick-fire century ensured a massive first-innings lead, while Pat Cummins’ lethal five-wicket haul dismantled India’s batting lineup along with Mitchell Starc's six-wicket haul in the first innings. The match lasted just 1,031 balls which is the fourth-shortest Test completed in Australia.

"Folks, don't be too disappointed. He got an absolute jaffa of a delivery. In fact, he got a great sequence of deliveries in the short time that he was out there under these lights. And I've watched pink ball Test matches as we all have closely for a number of years here. And when it comes to the night game with the new pink ball, it is horrendous. It's so technically difficult. It exposes everyone and anyone," Hayden concluded.