On Wednesday, January 17, in an intense double Super Over match versus Afghanistan, Team India prevailed. With a 3-0 score, the hosts were able to win the series inexplicably.
India, who chose to bat first, scored 212 runs in the first innings before Afghanistan equaled the total, with contributions from all of their top-order batsmen. Both sides scored an equal number of runs (16) in the Super Over. After thereafter, India won the match because to Ravi Bishnoi’s 11-run defense in the second Super Over.
In a super exciting match, a few records were shattered. One record that stood out was the highest run partnership by an Indian duo in T20Is.
Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh were the star players. Their joint score of 190 runs made a big difference in the match. Both remained undefeated until the end and each player achieved personal best T20I scores. Rohit made a whopping 121* and Rinku hit a swift 69* off just 39 balls.
On that note, let’s take a look at the top five highest partnerships for India in men’s T20I.
1. 160 runs – Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma vs Ireland (2018)
In 2018, before venturing on their comprehensive two-month journey to England, India first tackled Ireland. The Dublin-based T20I series consisted of two games. Indian team, guided by lead, Virat Kohli, pitched their top XI against the Irish squad.
The first T20I saw Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, batting at the outset. Rohit allowed for some settling time while Dhawan was assertive from the get-go.
Soon after, Rohit joined the group as well, and in the eleventh over, the two seasoned players finished their century-long partnership. Dhawan scored 74 runs in his inning, with both players hitting five sixes. But when he was removed in the final over, Rohit agonizingly missed his century by just three runs. Following two explosive innings from Rohit and Dhawan, India amassed a mammoth 208-5 total.
The Irish hitters found it extremely difficult to overcome Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav’s intricate web. India won the match with a score of 76 runs thanks to the spin twins’ combined seven wickets.
2. 165 runs – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill vs West Indies (2023)
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, two shining young sportsmen, made their mark in a 2023 T20I game against the West Indies. They’re India’s newest stars.
In a high-stakes match in Lauderhill, Florida, the powerful duo faced the Windies. They successfully pursued a goal of 179 runs, turning the challenge into a joke. They brought India to victory with three overs left to play.
Jaiswal opened the scoring with a boundary off the opening ball of the innings and went all out during the powerplay. Conversely, Gill was a little cautious because he was emerging from a thin spot in the lineup.
In the tenth over, the opening pair reached a century partnership as they kept up their rapid run of runs. Both batsmen reached their respective half-centuries in the eleventh over. Before Gill was removed for 77, the pair put up 165 runs for the first wicket, leaving the West Indies bowlers helpless against the attack.
At 84, Jaiswal was still unblemished and throughout his stay he hit three maximums and eleven fours.
3. 165 – Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul vs Sri Lanka (2017)
Rohit Sharma’s standout performance for India in an international cricket event was breathtaking. He scored a whopping 118 runs from 43 balls against Sri Lanka.
The teams, after exchanging both Test and ODI matches, prepared for a T20I series of three games. The Indian team secured a strong win in the first T20I match in Cuttack. Hoping for a series victory, they started with the bat in the second T20I in Indore.
Openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul took to the field, creating a storm at the Holkar Stadium. They achieved a remarkable 165-run collaboration. Rahul’s impressive play, scoring 89 off 49, was overshadowed by Sharma’s exceptional skills on the field.
On a batting-friendly pitch in Indore, both hitters came out firing. Particularly, Rohit batted with an incredible strike rate of 274.42 and achieved his century in just 35 balls, which is the joint-fastest time for any player on the whole squad in Twenty20 Internationals.
Rahul, who scored fifty runs in the previous game, also hit eight explosive maximums and five boundaries. In just 92 balls, the two hitters scored a total of 207 runs.
With 165 runs, they have tied for the greatest opening stand in T20 international history for India.
4. 176 runs – Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda vs Ireland (2022)
In June 2022, Indian duo Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda amassed an impressive number of runs against Ireland during the first T20I in Dublin. It was a high-scoring match for the pair.
Early in the game, Ishan Kishan (3) was sent back to the pavilion in the third over. But, Hooda and Samson didn’t lose their spirit. They rallied together to form a triumphant partnership that delivered 176 runs. It was this strong partnership that led their team to victory.
It was pouring fours and sixes when Samson and Hooda targeted the barrier after grasping the situation. In the 13th over, Samson reached his first T20I half-century, and Hooda reached his fifty off just 27 balls.
Hooda made his first international century after turning his fifty. Samson and Hooda both hit at a pace of almost 183 and contributed 176 runs, which is the second-best score for India in T20I history, as they put the Irish bowlers to the sword.
Despite their best efforts, the hosts were unable to reach the objective; ultimately, India prevailed by four runs.
5. 190* runs – Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh vs Afghanistan (2024)
The most recent players to break both the record for highest partnership for India and highest partnership for the fifth or lower wicket in T20I history are Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh.
They rescued India out of a dangerous scenario in the previously stated third Twenty20 International against Afghanistan. In only 4.3 overs, the Men in Blue were down 22/4, but Rohit and Rinku drastically reversed the tide of the match by blocking the Afghan bowlers.
In the first half, it was difficult to bat on the surface at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. At first, even Rohit had trouble with time. There was a collapse from the opposite end, but he kept looking for runs.
Rinku joined him during the powerplay. Rinku was first a little cautious, but Rohit persisted in his attacks on the Afghans. India were 61/4 at the 10-over point, and then the two batsmen just went crazy.
With 151 runs scored in the final 60 balls of the innings, Rohit Sharma became the first player to ever reach five hundreds in Twenty20 International cricket. Experts in effortlessly removing ropes, Rohit and Rinku delighted the Bengaluru audience by smoking a whopping fourteen sixes between them.
With an undefeated stand of 190 runs off just 93 balls, the pair concluded the innings with no bowler in Afghanistan having a response for the assault. The greatest non-opening stand in T20I history was also established by their outstanding fifth-wicket partnership (among full members).
