The 2022 T20 World Cup is around the corner, which is just five months away from now. A total of 12 teams will participate in the multi-national event. Australia are the defending champions and they will defend their title at home. However, talking about the matches, the pressure is always high in the World Cup. Sometimes, it can get to the team, and they can collapse during their batting lineup. And that has happened many times, but then the lower order batters come to the rescue.
Although, after losing the first 8 wickets, the team is almost dead and the Nos. 9 and 10 batsmen can’t do much about that. But sometimes, these batters add some crucial runs for the team that can help them end with some more runs. So, in this article, we will discuss the top ten highest 8th-wicket partnerships in the T20 World Cup.
1. Gulbadin Naib and Shapoor Zadran (44) against England in the T20 World Cup 2012
Till date, there is no instance when the 9th wicket partnership has crossed the 50-run mark in the World Cup. The highest partnership came in the 2012 World Cup in a match between England and Afganistan. Batting first, the English team scored 196/5 in their 20 overs. Luke Wright missed his century by just one run. He was unbeaten on 99* off 55 balls, including eight boundaries and six maximums.
The Afghan team’s batting suffered a disastrous start. None of their top batters reached the 10-run mark. They lost their first eight wickets for just 26 runs and were heading to a humiliating defeat. But then, Gulbadin Naib and Shapoor Zadran added 44 runs for the ninth wicket to take their team out of misery. However, in the end, Afganistan lost the match by 116 runs, but they recovered a bit in the end.
2. Zaheer Khan and Rohit Sharma (36) against Australia in the T20 World Cup 2010
This was a match between Australia and India in the 2010 World Cup at Bridgetown. After winning the toss, India decided to bowl first, but Australia got off to a brilliant start. Shane Watson (54) and David Warner (72) both scored their respective half-centuries and added 104 runs for the first wicket. But once the partnership was broken, India came back strong to restrict Australia to 184/5 in their 20 overs.
Chasing the target, the Australian bowlers got all over the Indian batting lineup and kept taking wickets. At one stage, India were struggling at 97/8 in 14.3 overs. But then, Rohit Sharma (79*), who was batting so well, added 36 runs for the ninth wicket with Zaheer Khan to give India some hope. But the target was too big and, in the end, India were all out for 135, handing over the 49-run victory to Australia.
3. Hamid Hassan and Mirwais Ashraf (33) against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2010
This instance came in the 12th match of the 2010 World Cup between Afghanistan and South Africa. Batting first, the Proteas struggled against the disciplined bowling attack of the Afghan team. As a result, they just made 139/7 in their 20 overs. It looked like this could be a big upset as the target was below-par. Afghanistan were the favourites going into the mid-inning break.
But once the ball was handed over to the South African pacers, they just totally changed the match scenario. Afghanistan lost their first eight wickets for just 32 runs, and it looked like they would get bowled out for under 50 runs. But Mirwais Ashraf and Hamid Hassan added 33 runs for the ninth wicket and saved their team from that shame. However, in the end, they were bowled out for 80 runs. South Africa won that match by 59 runs.
T20 World Cup Highest 9th Wicket Partnership List
| Batters | Partnership | Against | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gulbadin Naib and Shapoor Zadran (Afghnistan) | 44 | England | Colombo | 2012 |
| Zaheer Khan and Rohit Sharma (India) | 36 | Australia | Bridgetown | 2010 |
| Hamid Hassan and Mirwais Ashraf (Afghanistan) | 33 | South Africa | Bridgetown | 2010 |
| RL Bhudia and JK Kamande (Kenya) | 27 | New Zealand | Durban | 2007 |
| Kamran Shazad and EH Silva (UAE) | 27 | Zimbabwe | Sylhet | 2014 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza and Sohag Gazi (Bangladesh) | 24 | West Indies | Dhaka | 2014 |
| Abdur Razzak and Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh) | 24 | Ireland | Nottingham | 2009 |
| AR Cussack and WK McCallan (Ireland) | 20* | India | Nottingham | 2009 |
| M Gillespie and Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) | 20* | England | Durban | 2007 |
| Stuart Broad and A Rashid (England) | 19 | South Africa | Nottingham | 2009 |
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 |