Team India has always been among the top-ranked sides in the game of cricket. They are an integral part of this cricket world, and teams find them tough to face. Especially in Test cricket, the Men in Blue have shown real dominance at home and away. They have found success all over the world because of their strong batting sources.
Test cricket is a format for big scores and partnerships, and until a team has a good batting lineup, they find it hard to compete. Meanwhile, India has one of the strongest batting orders in the world. And here we will talk about an interesting stat about the highest partnership for Team India in the longest format of the game.
Highest Partnership in Test by India
| Pair | Runs | Wkt | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy | 413 | 1st | New Zealand | Chennai | 6 Jan 1956 |
| Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid | 410 | 1st | Pakistan | Lahore | 13 Jan 2006 |
| VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid | 376 | 5th | Australia | Eden Gardens | 11 Mar 2001 |
| Murali Vijay and Cheteswar Pujara | 370 | 2nd | Australia | Hyderabad | 2 Mar 2013 |
| Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane | 365 | 4th | New Zealand | Indore | 8 Oct 2016 |
| Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman | 353 | 4th | Australia | Sydney | 2 Jan 2004 |
| Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar | 344* | 2nd | West Indies | Eden Gardens | 29 Dec 1978 |
| Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma | 336 | 3rd | Pakistan | Multan | 28 Mar 2004 |
| Gundappa Viswanath and Yashpal Sharma | 317 | 1st | South Africa | Visakhapatnam | 2 Oct 2019 |
| Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid | 316 | 3rd | England | Chennai | 13 Jan 1982 |
3. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid (376 runs) vs Australia in 2001
India’s third highest test partnership came in one of the most historic wins in the history of Indian cricket. It came against Australia in March 2001 at the Eden Gardens. Batting first, Australia scored 445 runs, with skipper Steve Waugh (110) scoring a century. India got dismissed for just 171 runs and was forced to play the follow-on. It looked like India might get all out once again. But an incredible partnership between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid brought India back to the game.
Both batters batted for almost 104 overs and scored 376 runs for the fifth wicket. Laxman scored his career-best score of 281, and Dravid made 180 runs. India declared at 657/7 in 178 runs and set a target of 384 runs. Chasing the target, Australia got bowled out for 212 runs, and India won that match by 171 runs after a follow-on. It was only the third time in history that a team won a game following a follow-on, thanks in large part to India’s third-highest test partnership.
2. Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid (410 runs) vs Pakistan in 2006
The second highest partnership for India in test cricket came when India toured Pakistan for the last time in 2006. It was the first test of the series in Lahore in January 2006. Batting first, Pakistan declared at a huge score of 679/7 in 143.3 overs, with four batters scoring centuries. Younis Khan (199), Mohammad Yousuf (173), Shahid Afridi (103) and Kamran Akmal (102*) all scored a hundred each.
It looked like an impossible task for the Indians, but the openers had something different in mind. Virender Sehwag and skipper Rahul Dravid formed India’s second-largest test partnership. Both batters added 410 runs in just 76.5 overs to put India in a strong position. Sehwag got out after scoring 254 off 247 balls, with 47 fours and one six, while Dravid was unbeaten on 128. India was at 410/1 when the match was declared a draw.
1. Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy (413 runs) vs New Zealand in 1956
For India, the highest partnership in test format was recorded way back in January 1956. It came when India faced New Zealand in Chennai in January 1956. After winning the toss, India chose to bat first. India had a brilliant start, with both openers adding the highest test partnership and second highest opening stand. They added 413 runs for the first wicket. Vinoo Mankad scored 231 runs while Pankaj Roy made 173 runs.
India declared their first inning at 537/3 in 177 overs. In response, New Zealand had a contrasting performance with the bat. They got dismissed for 209 and 219 in two innings that they played. As a result, India won the game by an inning and 109 runs. This was the highest partnership for India, which is still a record to be broken.