Opening partnerships in T20 cricket is of paramount importance as it not only allows a team to get off to a good start but also sets the tone for the rest of the innings. Here are the top 10 highest opening partnerships in T20I cricket –
| Rank | Partners | Country | Total Partnership | Total Balls Taken | Versus | Date |
| 1 | Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani | Afghanistan | 236 | 105 | Ireland | 23/2/2019 |
| 2 | Aaron Finch and Darcy Short | Australia | 223 | 116 | Zimbabwe | 3/7/2018 |
| 3 | George Munsey and Kyle Coertzer | Scotland | 200 | 91 | Netherlands | 16/9/2019 |
| 4 | Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam | Pakistan | 197 | 106 | South Africa | 14/4/2021 |
| 5 | Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 171* | 106 | Pakistan | 17/1/2016 |
| 6 | Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul | India | 165 | 76 | Sr Lanka | 22/12/2017 |
| 7 | Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan | India | 160 | 96 | Ireland | 27/6/2018 |
| 8. | Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan | India | 158 | 98 | New Zealand | 1/11/2017 |
| 9 | Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam | Pakistan | 158 | 91 | West Indies | 16/12/2021 |
| 10 | Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien | Ireland | 154 | 75 | West Indies | 15/1/2020 |
Here are a few more pieces of information related to each of the 10 highest opening partnerships in T20I cricket –
- 1. Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani
- 2. Aaron Finch and Darcy Short
- 3. George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer
- 4. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam
- 5. Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson
- 6. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul
- 7. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
- 8. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
- 9. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam
- 10. Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien
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1. Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani
The Afghan duo of Zazai and Ghani takes the top spot in the league of highest opening partnerships in T20I cricket as they bolstered a 236 runs partnership against Ireland which helped Afghanistan post a mammoth total of 278 runs which ultimately helped them win handsomely by 84 runs! Zazai was adjudged the man of the match for his outstanding knock of unbeaten 162 runs off just 62 balls!
2. Aaron Finch and Darcy Short
Finch and Short hammered a 223 runs partnership against Zimbabwe at Harare where Finch did the bulk of the damage with his 172 runs knock off just 76 balls. The duo hit a total of 19 fours and 12 sixes in that partnership and Australia won the match by 100 runs!
3. George Munsey and Kyle Coetzer
Munsey and Coertzer ranks 3rd in the list of highest opening partnerships in T20I cricket after they smashed the Netherlands bowlers on their way to a massive 200 runs partnership. Munsey scored an unbeaten 127 runs off just 56 balls and smashed a total 14 sixes whereas Coertzer scored 89 runs and Scotland had set up a target of 253 runs which was defended very successfully.
4. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam
Pakistan made the target of 204 set by the Proteas a cakewalk thanks to the brilliant 197 runs partnership of Babar and Rizwan! Babar scored 122 runs off just 59 balls whereas his partner Rizwan remained not out at 73 runs off 47 balls. Pakistan chased down 204 runs with 2 overs remaining at the Centurian.
5. Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson
The Kiwi duo has the 5th best opening partnership in T20I cricket to date as they piled up an unbeaten 171 runs opening stand vs Pakistan which was the match-winning partnership as NZ chased down the 169 runs target with 2.2 overs remaining and 10 wickets in hand in Hamilton. Guptill and Kane remained not out at 87 and 72 runs respectively and interestingly only 4 sixes were hit in that partnership.
6. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul
The classy and flamboyant Indian openers stamped their authority over the Sri Lankan bowlers in Indore when they hammered their way to 165 runs opening partnership. The Hitman scored 118 runs off just 43 balls smashing 12 fours and 10 sixes and on the other hand, KL scored 89 off 49 with 5 fours and 8 sixes. Will they stitch a partnership bigger than this in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup?
7. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
The famous opening duo of Hitman and Gabbar is 7th with respect to the highest opening partnerships in T20I cricket with 160 runs against Ireland in Dublin. Courtesy of this partnership, India reached a total of 208 runs and won comprehensively against Ireland by 76 runs. Rohit was the man of the match for his 97 runs.
8. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
The duo of Rohit and Shikhar also makes it to the 8th rank of highest opening partnerships in T20I cricket, this time for a partnership of 158 runs vs New Zealand which is just 2 runs short of the previous one. Both Rohit and Shikhar scored 80 runs, and India won the match by 53 runs after posting a total of 202 runs in Delhi. The Delhi crowd was treated with a special partnership!
9. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam
The duo of Babar and Rizwan too makes it twice in this list of highest opening partnerships in T20I cricket, this time for their partnership of 158 runs vs West Indies. This partnership ensured that Pakistan chase down the huge target of 208 runs and win the series 3-0. Rizwan was the man of the match for his 87runs knock of 87 runs whereas Babar scored 79 off 53.
10. Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien
The Irish opening pair of Stirling and Kevin wraps up the list of highest opening partnerships in T20I cricket with their 154 runs stand vs West Indies in St. George’s cricket ground. Stirling scored 95 off 47 and Kevin scored 48 off 32. A total of10 fours and 10 sixes were scored in that partnership and thanks it, Ireland edged past West Indies by 4 runs!
What is the highest opening partnership in T20I cricket?
236 is the highest opening partnership in T20I cricket.
Who has scored the highest opening partnership in T20I cricket?
Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani has scored the highest opening partnership in T20I cricket (236 runs)
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