T20 World Cup: Nowadays, even bowlers can hit the ball hard if they get the opportunity. And it is always fun to see tailenders using their bat to hit the ball for boundaries. But when a team loses all 9 wickets, it is unfair to expect anything from the batters at Nos. 9 and 10. But sometimes, they add some quick runs at the end that can make a big difference. However, in a T20 World Cup match, those runs are more vital.
But in the history of World Cup events, there are not many 10th-wicket partnerships that have gone too far. In fact, there are only two occasions when the partnership has reached the 20-run mark. So, in this article, we will discuss the top ten highest 10th-wicket partnerships in the T20 World Cup.
1. S Benn and N Miller (20 runs) against Australia in the T20 World Cup 2010
The first instance of a 20-run partnership came in a match between West Indies and Australia in the 2010 World Cup. After winning the toss, the West Indies chose to bat first, but this decision totally backfired on them. The whole batting lineup fell like a pack of cards. They lost their nine wickets for 85 runs when Nikita Miller (10) and Sulieman Benn (9) added another 20 runs to the total to reach 105 runs.
For the Aussies, Steve Smith took three wickets. It was never a big target for the strong batting lineup of Australia. They chased down the target in just 16.2 overs and won the match by six wickets. For Australia, Brad Haddin made the most with 42 runs. This was the highest 10th wicket partnership in the history of the T20 World Cup.
2. Jade Dernbach and Steven Finn (20 runs) against India in the T20 World Cup 2012
This was the 10th match of the 2012 World Cup between India and England at Colombo. England won the toss and asked India to bat first. India sent Irfan Pathan to open the inning with Gambhir, but that didn’t work and he got out early. But after that, two good partnerships helped India to reach a good total of 170/4 in their 20 overs. Rohit Sharma scored 55% off 33 balls, and Virat (40) and Gambhir (45) also contributed.
Chasing the target, the English team totally fell apart, and only the opener, Craig Kieswetter, was the lone survivor. But he too fell after scoring 35 runs. But in the end, Jade Dernbach and Steven Finn added 20 runs for the last wicket to save a humiliating defeat for England. Eventually, India won the match easily by 90 runs. Harbhajan Singh was the “Man of the Match” for 4/12.
3. R Haq and JD Nel (18 runs) against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2007
This was the third match of the inaugural edition between Pakistan and Scotland in 2007. After winning the toss, Scotland chose to bowl first. However, Pakistan lost two wickets early, but then the middle-order totally dominated the Scottish bowlers, and 3-4 batters got the start. In the end, the Men in Green resgitered 171/9 in their 20 overs. Younis Khan scored 41 runs, the highest in the inning.
Defending the target, Pakistan came hard on Scotland’s batting. Only opener Fraser Watts showed some fight and made 46 runs. But all the other batters didn’t look comfortable. After losing nine wickets for 102, R Haq and JD Nel added 18 runs to the innings, and they were all out for 120 runs. Pakistan won that match by 51 runs. Shahid Afridi was named “Man of the Match” for his all-round performance. He had 22 (7) and 4/19 in the match.
T20 World Cup Highest 10th Wicket Partnership List
| Batters | Partnership | Against | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S Benn and N Miller (West Indies) | 20 | Australia | Gros Islet | 2010 |
| J Dernbach and S Finn (England) | 20 | India | Colombo | 2012 |
| R Haq and JD Nel (Scotland) | 18 | Pakistan | Durban | 2007 |
| RP Singh and S Sreesanth (India) | 17* | New Zealand | Johannesburg | 2007 |
| Mohammad Asif and Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan) | 15* | England | Bridgetown | 2010 |
| Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran (Afghanistan) | 15* | England | Bridgetown | 2010 |
| Misbah-Ul-Haq and Mohammad Asif (Pakistan) | 11 | India | Johannesburg | 2007 |
| Imran Tahir and L Tsotsobe (South Africa) | 10* | Netherlands | Chittagong | 2014 |
| Abdur Razzak and Syed Rasel (Bangladesh) | 10 | South Africa | Cape Town | 2007 |
| G Lamb and Raymond Price (Zimbabwe) | 10 | England | Colombo | 2010 |
Highest T20 World Cup Partnership by Wicket
| Overall | 1st Wicket | 2nd Wicket |
| 3rd Wicket | 4th Wicket | 5th Wicket |
| 6th Wicket | 7th Wicket | 8th Wicket |
| 9th Wicket | 10th Wicket |