T20 Cricket is all about batsmen. The format demands batter to dominate over bowlers. The fans enjoyed hard-hitting and big scores in T20 International cricket. The Afghani openers Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani hold the record of the highest opening partnership in T20I. They gave an opening start of 236 runs against Ireland in Dehradun on Feb 23, 2019. Hazratullah Zazai was the architect of this partnership. He made not out 162 runs in just 62 balls and smashed 16 sixes in his innings. Usman Ghani also made 73 runs in 48 balls and played his role brilliantly in this record partnership.
Highest 1st Wicket Partnership in T20 International
There are several remarkable partnerships we had witnessed in this shortest form of cricket. The top highest first wicket or opening wicket partnerships are mentioned below in the table:
| Batsmen Name |
Runs |
Team |
Against |
Date |
| Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani |
236 |
Afghanistan |
Ireland |
February 23, 2019 |
| Aaron Finch, D’Arcy Short |
223 |
Australia |
Zimbabwe |
July 3, 2018 |
| Munsey, KJ Coetzer |
200 |
Scotland |
NL |
September 16, 2019 |
| Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam |
197 |
Pakistan |
SA |
April 14, 2021 |
| Balaji Pai and Louis Bruce |
172* |
Gibraltar |
Bulgaria |
October 23, 2021 |
| Martin Guptill,Kane Williamson |
171* |
New Zealand |
Pakistan |
January 17, 2016 |
| G Smith, LE Bosman |
170 |
South Africa |
England |
November 15, 2009 |
| Rohit Sharma,KL Rahul |
165 |
India |
Sri Lanka |
December 22, 2017 |
| Rohit Sharma,Shikhar Dhawan |
160 |
India |
Ireland |
June 27, 2018 |
| Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan |
158 |
India |
NZ |
November 1, 2017 |
| Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam |
158 |
PAK |
WI |
December 16, 2021 |
| PD Hennessy, Awais Ahmed |
155 |
Spain |
Malta |
March 30, 2019 |
| Paul Stirling and Kevin O’ Brien |
154 |
Ireland |
WI |
January 15, 2020 |
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam
T20 World Cup 2021 |
152* |
Pakistan |
India |
October 24, 2021 |
| Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam |
150 |
Pakistan |
England |
July 17, 2021 |
Aaron Finch and D’Arcy Short also made a record partnership of 223 runs against Zimbabwe at Harare Stadium on July 3, 2018. Aaron Finch made 172 runs in just 76 balls. Aaron Finch smashed 16 fours and 10 sixes in his inning while D'Arcy Short made only 46 runs in 42 balls.
HG Munsey and KJ Coetzer of Scotland made a record partnership of 200 runs against the Netherlands at Dublin stadium on September 16, 2019. HG Munsey made not out 127 runs in 56 balls and played an anchor role in the partnership. Kyle Coetzer also contributed 89 runs in just 50 balls.
Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson made not out partnership of 171 runs against Pakistan back in 2016 at Hamilton. On chasing a target of 169 runs, the Kiwi opening pair finished the game by own and won the match by 10 wickets. Martin Guptill made not out 87 runs in 58 balls and Kane Williamson made not out 72 runs in 48 balls.
G Smith and LE Bosman made a record opening first wicket partnership of 170 runs for South Africa against England in Centurion on November 15, 2009. G Smith made 88 runs in 44 balls and L Bosman made 94 runs in just 45 balls.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul hold the record of highest opening partnership by Indian openers. They made a record partnership of 165 runs against Sri Lanka at Indore back in December 2017. Rohit Sharma stole the show and made 118 runs in just 43 balls. He smashed 12 fours and 10 sixes in his inning.
Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith made the highest opening partnership for the West Indies team. They made 145 runs opening partnership against South Africa back in September 2007.
Michael Lumb and Alex Hales made the highest T20I opening partnership for the England team. They made an unbeaten partnership of 143 runs against New Zealand back in 2013.
Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt made the highest opening partnership for Pakistan in T20Is. They made 142 runs opening partnership against Bangladesh in May 2010.