Test Cricket is a difficult format to play. Unlike T20I, one moment or one over cannot decide the result of a Test match. A team needs to produce a series of good performances again and again in a single match to win. When a partnership is budding, the batters need to take one over at a time and not think too far ahead. This isn’t easy when you are playing for 6 hours for 5 consecutive days. But some batting partnerships in Test cricket completely demolished the opposition team. Here are the Top 10 Biggest Partnerships In Test Cricket-
1. Kumar Sangakkara – Mahela Jayawardene (624)
When the two best Sri Lankan batters came together in 2006 at Colombo, it was all over for South Africa. In reply to South Africa’s 169, Sri Lanka was reduced to 14/2, losing both the openers. The third-wicket pair of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene made the Protease bowlers toil. The duo raised 624 runs. Jayawardene scored 374, the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan batter. Sangakkara scored 287. Sri Lanka won the match by an innings and 153 runs.
2. Sanath Jayasuriya – Roshan Mahanama (576)
Sri Lanka hosted India in a Test match in 1997 at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India won the toss and decided to set the target. With 3 batters breaching the 100-run mark, India posted 537/8d. But the Sri Lankans were not in the mood to let India bat again. The second-wicket stand between opener Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama piled up 576 runs. Jayasuriya and Mahanama scored their career-best 340 and 225, respectively. Aravinda de Silva scored a century too. Sri Lanka posted 952/6d, but the match ended in a draw.
3. Andrew Jones – Martin Crowe (467)
Sri Lanka and New Zealand competed in a match at Wellington in 1991. The hosts were bowled out for 174. In reply, Sri Lanka piled up 497, gaining a massive lead of 323 runs. New Zealand was in deep trouble. In the third innings, the Kiwis lost their second wicket on 148. The third-wicket pair of Andrew Jones and Martin Crowe rescued New Zealand from the jaws of defeat. They added 467 to draw the game. Crowe was very unlucky to be dismissed on 299. Jones hammered 186 runs.
4. Bill Ponsford – Don Bradman (451)
The Ashes 1934 was hosted by England. In the fifth test at Kennington (The Oval), Australia batted first. The second-wicket duo of Bill Ponsford and Don Bradman raised 451 runs. Ponsford scored 266, while Bradman scored 244. Their partnership propelled Australia to 701. This partnership later proved to be decisive in Australia winning the match.
5. Mudassar Nazar – Javed Miandad (451)
In 1983, India and Pakistan clashed in a match at Hyderabad (Sind). Batting first, Pakistan lost 2 wickets with just 60 runs on board. Opener Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad joined forces to add 451 runs for the third wicket. Miandad smashed an unbeaten 280 while Nazar was dismissed on 231. The Indians couldn’t match the Pakistanis and eventually lost the match by an innings and 119 runs.
6. Adam Voges – Shaun Marsh (449)
West Indies was playing against Australia in Hobart in 2015. Australia rode on a fourth-wicket stand between Adam Voges (269*) and Shaun Marsh (182) to pile up 583/4d. The Aussies then bowled out West Indies twice to win the match by an innings and 212 runs. Voges was chosen as the Man of the Match.
7. Conrad Hunte – Gary Sobers (446)
West Indies hosted Pakistan in 1958 at Sabina Park in Kingston (Jamaica). In reply to Pakistan’s first-inning score of 328, West Indies needed a big score to win the match. The second-wicket pair of Conrad Hunte (260) and Sir Gary Sobers (365*) powered West Indies to 790/3d. The West Indian bowlers then bowled out Pakistan for 288 to win the match by an innings and 174 runs.
8. Marvan Atapattu – Kumar Sangakkara (438)
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to chase the target. In this match at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe could manage 228 runs in the first innings. In reply, the second-wicket pair of Marvan Atapattu (249) and Kumar Sangakkara (270) added 438 to propel Lanka to 713/3d. Mahela Jayawardene, too, scored an unbeaten 100. Muttiah Muralitharan then grabbed 4 wickets to skittle out Zimbabwe on 231. Sri Lank won by an innings and 254 runs, its largest margin of victory in Tests.
9. Mahela Jayawardene – Thilan Samaraweera (437)
The Sri Lankan team toured Pakistan in 2009. In the opening test at Karachi, Sri Lanka batted first. They lost the third wicket on 177, which brought Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera together. The duo added 437 runs to help Sri Lanka post 644/7d. Both Jayawardene and Samaraweera scored a double-century each. The match eventually ended in a draw.
10. Jacques Rudolph – Boeta Dippenaar (429*)
Bangladesh hosted Bangladesh in a Test match at Chittagong in 2003. Batting first, Bangladesh was bowled out on 173 despite Habibul Bashar’s 60 runs. In the second innings, South Africa rode on Jacques Rudolph’s unbeaten double-century and Boeta Dippenaar’s 177* to post 470/2d. Paul Adams recorded a 5-wicket haul in the fourth innings to help South Africa win by an innings and 60 runs.
