Team India won a very close match against Afghanistan on Wednesday, January 17. They won the series with three wins out of three games.
In the first innings, India scored 212 runs before Afghanistan matched their score. Then, in the Super Over, both teams scored the same number of runs. Finally, India’s Ravi Bishnoi defended 11 runs in the second Super Over to secure the win.
The match saw many records being broken, including the highest partnership score by an Indian pair in T20Is. Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh were the top performers of the match. Their partnership of 190 runs was the highest in the game. Rohit scored 121 not out, while Rinku scored 69 not out in just 39 balls.
Now, let’s see the top five highest partnerships for India in men’s T20Is.
5. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma vs Ireland- 160 runs (2018)
Before their two-month tour of England in 2018, India played a two-game T20I series against Ireland in Dublin. Captain Virat Kohli led India’s strongest team against the Irish squad.
In the first T20I, India batted first. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan gave India a powerful start. Dhawan was aggressive from the beginning, while Rohit took some time to settle.
Soon, Rohit joined in the aggressive play, and the pair reached a century partnership by the 11th over. Both batsmen hit five sixes each. Dhawan scored 74 runs, and Rohit narrowly missed his century, getting out for 97 in the final over. Their strong performances helped India post a total of 208-5.
The Irish team struggled against India’s bowlers, especially Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who took seven wickets between them. India won the match comfortably by 76 runs.
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4. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill vs West Indies- 165 (2023)
In 2023, during a crucial T20I match against the West Indies in Lauderhill, Florida, young Indian cricketers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill shone brightly. The pair led India to victory by easily chasing a target of 179 runs, winning the game with three overs left.
Jaiswal started strong, hitting a boundary on the first ball, and continued to dominate during the powerplay. Gill was more cautious at the start, as he was recovering from a slump in this format.
Together, they scored quickly, reaching a 100-run partnership by the tenth over. Both hit their half-centuries in the 11th over. The West Indies bowlers struggled against their relentless batting. The opening pair added 165 runs before Gill was out for 77. Jaiswal remained unbeaten at 84, hitting 11 fours and three sixes.
3. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul vs Sri Lanka- 165 (2017)
One of the most incredible innings for India in international cricket was played by Rohit Sharma, who scored 118 runs off just 43 balls against Sri Lanka.
After three Test matches and three ODIs, India and Sri Lanka were ready to face off in a 3-match T20I series. India won the first T20I easily in Cuttack. Looking to secure the series win, India batted first in the second T20I in Indore.
Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul took the field and dominated at Holkar Stadium. They built a historic 165-run partnership. While Rahul scored an impressive 89 off 49 balls, Rohit was on another level.
Both batsmen were aggressive from the start on the batsman-friendly Indore pitch. Rohit, in particular, had an astonishing strike rate of 274.42, reaching his century in just 35 balls, which is the joint-fastest century in T20Is by a player from a full-member team.
Rahul, who had scored a half-century in the previous match, hit five boundaries and eight sixes. Together, the two batsmen scored a total of 207 runs in just 92 balls.
Their 165-run partnership is India’s joint-highest opening stand in T20 internationals.
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2. Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda vs Ireland- 176 runs (2022)
Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda also scored big runs against Ireland. They played brilliantly in the first T20I match in Dublin in June 2022.
After Ishan Kishan got out early, scoring just 3 runs in the third over, Hooda and Samson formed a winning partnership of 176 runs.
Once they got comfortable with the playing conditions, they started hitting boundaries, scoring many fours and sixes. Samson reached his first T20I half-century in the 13th over, while Hooda took just 27 balls to get his fifty.
Hooda went on to score his first international century. Both Samson and Hooda hit the ball at a strike rate of around 183, and their partnership of 176 runs is the second-highest for India in T20I history.
Although Ireland tried hard to chase the target, India won the game by four runs in the end.
1. Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh vs Afghanistan- 190* runs – (2024)
Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh recently set a new record for the highest partnership for India and the highest for the fifth or lower wicket in T20I history.
In the third T20I against Afghanistan, India was in trouble at 22/4 after 4.3 overs. But then Rohit and Rinku turned the game around by dominating the Afghan bowlers.
The pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was difficult to bat on initially, and even Rohit struggled at first. Despite the early collapse, he kept pushing for runs.
Rinku joined him during the powerplay. While Rinku started cautiously, Rohit kept attacking. By the 10-over mark, India was 61/4. After that, both batters went on the offensive.
In the last 60 balls of the innings, they scored 151 runs. Rohit became the first player to hit five T20I centuries. Together, Rohit and Rinku hit 14 sixes, thrilling the crowd in Bengaluru.
The Afghan bowlers couldn’t stop them, and the pair ended the innings with an unbeaten 190-run partnership off just 93 balls. This incredible fifth-wicket stand became the highest non-opening partnership in T20I history among full members.
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