Highest Partnership in T20 World Cup

The previous edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup saw batsmen thrive in the company of their partner and set new records as a duo.

South Africa’s Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw scripted history during the Super-12 stage when they broke the long-standing record for registering the highest stand for any wicket in the history of the tournament.

The duo racked up 168 runs for the second wicket against a helpless Bangladesh attack at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground, breaking Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara’s record of highest Partnership ever in this tournament’s history.

Jayawardene and Sanga accumulated 166 runs for the second wicket against the West Indies at Bridgetown, Barbados, in the Super-8 match of the 2010 T20 WC.

However, two weeks later, England’s Jos Buttler and Alex Hales broke Rossouw and De Kock’s record by smashing 170 runs for the first wicket in the semi-final against India at the Adelaide Oval.

Speaking of the Indian bowlers, they also faced the ignominy of leaking 152 runs to Pakistani openers, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, during their 2021 defeat in Dubai. The 152-run-stand is at the fourth spot in this esteemed list.

Alex Hales finds another mention in the top five, thanks to his 152-run-stand with former English skipper Eoin Morgan against the Sri Lankans in the 2014 event.

The inaugural match of the 2007 T20 WC saw Chris Gayle and Devon Smith hammer a 145-run-stand for the first wicket against the Proteas. The record stayed for 2.5 years before Jayawardene and Sangkkara broke it in Barbados.

Speaking of Mahela Jayawardene, the former Lankan skipper also finds a mention at the seventh spot, thanks to his 145-run partnership with T Dilshan against England in 2014.

Among the Indians, the opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir registered a match-winning 136-run-stand in 2007.

14 years later, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul bettered it by racking up a 140-run-stand agaisnt Afghanistan.