Good partnerships win matches. Like life, it suits a winning cricket team too.
There is no better sight for the batting team in the T20s than watching their openers stay long and go big together, and it keeps the pressure off from the batsmen who will walk in next.
With only 20 overs for a batting unit to build on a concrete scoreboard, it is very important that they have a good start. Especially in a bigger event like the T20 World cup, where there will be high pressure in the air, the opening partnership is, without doubt, a key factor.
This article will list the top 10 highest opening partnerships in the T20 World Cup matches.
Highest Opening Partnership in T20 World Cup
| THE PAIR | PARTNERSHIP | OPPOSITION | VENUE | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jos Buttler - Alex Hales (ENG) | 170* | India | Adelaide | 2022 |
| Ibrahim Zadran - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) | 154 | Uganda | Providence | 2024 |
| Babar Azam - Mohammad Rizwan (PAK) | 152* | India | Dubai | 2021 |
| Chris Gayle - Dwayne Smith (WI) | 145 | South Africa | Johannesburg | 2007 |
| Kamran Akmal - Salman Butt (PAK) | 142 | Bangladesh | Gros Islet | 2010 |
| KL Rahul - Rohit Sharma (IND) | 140 | Afghanistan | Abu Dhabi | 2021 |
| Gautam Gambhir - Virender Sehwag (IND) | 136 | England | Durban | 2007 |
| Chris Gayle - Andre Fletcher (WI) | 133 | Australia | The Oval | 2009 |
| Shane Watson - David Warner (AUS) | 133 | India | Colombo | 2012 |
| Aqib Ilyas - Jatinder Singh (Oman) | 131* | PNG | Al Amerat | 2021 |
Key Insights
Jos Buttler and Alex Hales recorded the highest opening partnership in the T20 World Cup. The English pair put up an unbeaten 170-run stand against India in the second semi-final in 2022. This helped England achieve their first 10-wicket win in the tournament.
There are so far 22 100+ Opening partnerships in nine editions of the Men’s T20 World Cup, with three pairs going ahead of a 150-run partnership.
Babar-Rizwan was the first opening pair to attain the 150-run partnership mark in the T20 World Cup. This happened in their first-ever win against India in a World Cup match of any format, and this was also their first 10-wicket win in the format.
The Pakistani pair, in total, has three 100-plus opening partnerships in the tournament’s history, the joint-most for an opening pair. Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz are the other pair with three 100-plus first-wicket stands. Interestingly, all three of their partnerships came in the 2024 edition.
There are two other opening pairs in the T20 World Cup with two 100+ partnerships to their names:
- Shane Watson – David Warner – 133 vs India (2012) & 104 vs India (2010)
- Matthew Hayden – Adam Gilchrist – 104 vs Bangladesh (2007) & 102* vs Sri Lanka (2007)
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