ICC World Test Championship: 5 Biggest Opening Partnerships In The Tournament

Opening Partnerships are very key to success in any format of the game as they make the inroads for a big total and take the upper hand ahead of the opponents. Especially in a long tournament like ICC World Test Championship, the teams rely a lot on the openers to keep contributing. It is very hard for the openers to considering that they will be facing the new ball.

The final of the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship is just a couple of weeks away from taking place in England between India and New Zealand. Teams have always benefited a lot from the opening partnership and it sets the trend for the innings most of the time. Here are the 5 biggest opening partnerships in the ICC World Test Championship.

5 Biggest Opening Partnerships In The Tournament:

5.Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirmanne’s 161 Against New Zealand, 2019

The pair of Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirmanne have had some excellent partnerships at the top of the order for Sri Lanka in tests and this was one of the best against a quality New Zealand bowling attack. They together almost grinded out 60 overs together in a tough run chase at Galle.

With 268 to win in the fourth innings, Sri Lanka needed to get the right start and the openers provided them with 161 for the first wicket which was massive in terms of deciding the winner. Karunaratne finished with an excellent century while his partner Thirmanne was dismissed for 64. Sri Lanka won the Test by 6 wickets by chasing down the target.

4.Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirmanne’s 209 Against Bangladesh, 2021

Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirmanne created havoc against Bangladesh with an opening partnership of 209 in the second test of the two-match series. This was the fourth-highest opening partnership of the ICC World Test Championship while Sri Lanka batted first and put up a daunting score of 493 on the board with the help of the openers.

Both Karunaratne and Thirmmane scored excellent centuries and the left-handers never looked like getting dismissed. Sri Lanka went on to win the match by a huge margin of 209 runs and the youngster Praveen Jayawickrama was adjudged the man of the match for picking up five-wicket hauls in both innings.

3.David Warner and Joe Burns’ 222 Against Pakistan, 2019

David Warner and Joe Burns shared a big partnership of 222 for the opening wicket against Pakistan in the two-match test series. Pakistan after winning the toss could manage only 240 on the board in their first innings. In reply, Australia’s openers were excellent from the start paving the way for a big total.

Warner scored 154 in the innings while Joe Burns missed out on his well-deserved century by just 3 runs. It was a massive effort from the openers and it almost demolished the possibilities of Pakistan getting back in the game. This was the third-highest opening partnership in the ICC World Test Championship.

2.Shan Masood and Abid Ali’s 278 Against Sri Lanka, 2019

The Pakistan openers Shan Masood and Abid Ali’s 278 run partnership against Sri Lanka stand second in the biggest opening partnership of the ICC World Test Championship. Both the openers failed in the first innings and Pakistan was trailing by 80 runs at the end of the first innings. It needed a stellar effort to get Pakistan back in the game and the openers stepped up on the right occasion.

Shan Masood and Abid Ali both made centuries in the second innings and it continued with the number three Azhar Ali and number four Babar Azam also scoring centuries. Pakistan moved to 555 for the loss of three wickets and went on to win the game by a big margin of 263 runs.

1.Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma’s 317 Against South Africa, 2019

The Indian openers Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma stand first in the biggest opening partnerships of the ICC World Test Championship tournament with 317 runs for the first wicket at Vizag. They made merry of the South African bowlers after winning the toss and batting first in the first of the three-match home test series.

Agarwal went on to score a double century while the new Test opener Rohit scored twin centuries in the test which got him the man of the match award. It was a phenomenal display of batting and India won the test comfortably by a margin of 203 runs. India might not go ahead with the same pair for the ICC World Test Championship finals with Shubman Gill preferred ahead of Agarwal.