Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal have made history by becoming the Indian opening pair with the highest partnership aggregate in a two-match Test series. They accomplished this remarkable achievement during the fourth day of the second Test against the West Indies in Port of Spain, etching their names into the record books.
In the first innings of the ongoing match, they put up an impressive partnership, scoring 139 runs together. Not stopping there, in the second innings, they added a quickfire 98 runs, displaying their aggressive approach.
Their combined efforts across both Tests resulted in a remarkable total of 466 runs as an opening partnership, setting a new Indian record for a two-match Test series. Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie hold the overall highest opening partnership aggregate in a two-match Test series. They scored 479 runs during their two-Test series against Bangladesh in 2008, including a colossal 415-run stand, which still stands as a Test world record.
Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan, who scored 537 runs against Australia in 1979-80, hold the highest opening partnership aggregate for India in a series of more than two Tests. The pairing of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir follows closely with 477 runs against Pakistan in 2005.
In the second innings of the recent match, Rohit and Jaiswal showcased their attacking prowess, maintaining an impressive run rate of 8.28, which now stands as the second-highest run rate by an opening pair in a partnership that lasted for at least 50 runs. England’s Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan hold the highest run rate for such a partnership, batting at a rate of 10 against Sri Lanka in 2002.
India declared their second innings at 181/2, with Ishan Kishan (52*) and Shubman Gill (29*) remaining not out, following another significant contribution by Rohit Sharma (57) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (38) with a 98-run stand. This set a target of 365 for the West Indies to win, and they were 76/2 at the end of day four.
India’s speedy scoring during the Test match resulted in them breaking a 22-year-old record for the fastest team hundred in Test cricket, previously held by Sri Lanka. In this particular match, India reached the 100-run milestone in a remarkable 12.2 overs (74 balls), surpassing Sri Lanka’s previous achievement of reaching it in 13.2 overs (80 balls) against Bangladesh during the Asian Test Championship in 2001.
India eventually dismissed the West Indies for 255 in response to their formidable first-innings total of 438.
India’s aggressive batting approach and the historic partnership between Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal played a crucial role in paving their victory path in the Test series.
