Top 10 Batting pairs with most partnership runs in Tests

Top 10 Batting pairs with most partnership runs in Tests: Batting records since the late 90s have generally been dominated by India and Australia, who have had outstanding partnerships in the top and middle order. England and Sri Lanka though also boasted of prolific partnerships from 2000s. Large partnerships also serve to exhaust and demoralize the fielding teams in addition to piling up runs on the scoreboard. Some legendary names feature in the list of the most productive partnerships in Tests. Here are the Top 10 Batting pairs with most partnership runs in Tests: 10. Rahul Dravid & VVS Laxman – 4065: VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid. (© ARKO DATTA/AFP/Getty Images) This pair famous for monumental rescue acts for the Indian team. Dravid and Laxman enjoyed batting together and complimented each other in an exemplary manner. While Dravid was the more technically solid batsman known to grind out the opposition bowlers, Laxman used his free-flowing elegance to go after the bowlers. This great partnership produced 4065 runs at a superb average of 51.45 from 86 innings. They shared 12 hundred and 14 fifty run partnerships with the best of 376 against Australia at Kolkatta in 2001; a match etched in the memory of every Indian cricket fan and a part of cricketing folklore. Also Read – Top 10 Highest Partnerships In tests 9. Sourav Ganguly & Sachin Tendulkar – 4173: Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. (© DESHAKALYAN CHOWDHURY/AFP/Getty Images) Another two members of Indian cricket’s ‘fab five’, the southpaw and the master formed a famous partnership for India in Test cricket. Although their opening partnerships in ODI cricket is more legendary, they did extremely well in the longest format of the game as well. From 86 innings it produced 4173 runs at a marvelous average of 61.36. These two shared 12 hundred and 16 fifty run partnerships. Their best was 281 against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 1999. 8. Gautam Gambhir & Virender Sehwag – 4412: Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. (© MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images) India had struggled to find a stable opening pair since years and these two provided the solidity the team was looking for. Having played a lot of cricket together even before donning the India colours, Gambhir and Sehwag had a great understanding of each other’s game. The left-handed Gambhir was the more solid of the two while Sehwag loved to hammer the bowlers to all parts of the ground. This great opening partnership produced 4412 runs at a superb average of 52.52 from 87 innings. They shared 11 hundred and 25 fifty-run partnerships with the best of 233 against Sri Lanka at Kanpur in 2009. 7. Marvan Atapattu & Sanath Jayasuriya – 4533: Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya. (© Getty Images) Another pair that complimented each other with contrasting styles of play, Atapattu and Jayasuriya formed an excellent partnership for Sri Lanka. While the right-hander had a horrible start to his international career and made several comebacks before establishing himself in the national side, the southpaw was an attacking lower order batsman who was promoted to open the innings in ODIs before cementing his place in the Test team. Both went to have highly successful careers and their partnership produced 4533 runs at an average of 39.41 from 122 innings with 9 century and 24 half-century stands with the best of 335 against Pakistan at Kandy in 2000. 6. Matthew Hayden & Ricky Ponting – 4765: Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting. (© Getty Images) Part of the golden generation of Australian cricket, Hayden and Ponting helped their team become world-beaters in the first decade of the 21st century. The burly southpaw was one of the most destructive openers in modern era while the right-hander was arguably one of the greatest in the game. This incredible partnership produced 4765 runs at an astounding average of 67.11 from 76 innings. They shared 16 hundred and 22 fifty run partnerships with the best of 272 against England at Brisbane in 2002. 5. Alastair Cook & Andrew Strauss – 5253: Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss. (© Getty Images) Cook was always seen as the successor of Andrew Strauss and did so when the latter retired from all formats of the game in 2012. They formed the most successful partnership for England. They had 14 century and 21 half-century partnerships between them, with the best of 229 against West Indies at Barbados in 2009. The pair produced 5253 runs at an average of 40.40. The two technically sound left-handers batted solidly and gave England brilliant starts in Test cricket. 4. Matthew Hayden & Justin Langer – 6081: Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden. (© Getty Images) One of the reasons for Australia’s domination of world cricket can also be attributed to the starts to the Aussie innings given by hard-hitting Hayden and the gutsy Langer. Both played attacking cricket and gave their team brisk starts putting pressure on the opposition. This fantastic partnership produced 6081 runs at a superb average of 51.53 from 122 innings. They shared 14 hundred and 28 fifty-run partnerships with the best of 255 against Sri Lanka at Cairns in 2004. 3. Gordon Greenidge & Desmond Haynes – 6482: Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge. (Photo Source: PA Photos) The legendary West Indian partnership set a benchmark for all future generations to follow. Playing in an era of West Indian dominance, Greenidge and Haynes played with typical Caribbean sflair and formed the most iconic partnership in the history of the game. This great partnership produced 6482 runs at an average of 47.31 from 148 innings. They shared 16 hundred and 26 fifty run partnerships with the best of 298 against England at Antigua in 1990; this remains the highest ever opening partnership in Test cricket. 2. Mahela Jayawardene & Kumar Sangakkara – 6554: Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. (© Getty Images) The Sri Lankan legends recently retired from international cricket however not before having illustrious careers. Two modern day greats, Jayawardene and Sangakkara formed the core of Sri Lankan batting. This brilliant partnership produced 6554 runs at an average of 56.50 from 120 innings. They shared 19 hundred and 27 fifty-run partnerships with the best of 624 against South Africa at Colombo in 2006; this monumental effort remains the highest partnerships for any wicket in international cricket. 1. Rahul Dravid & Sachin Tendulkar – 6920: Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. (© PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images) At the top of the list are two of the most accomplished batsmen of all time. Dravid and Tendulkar, two of the finest batmen ever, formed a terrific partnership for India. Adept at playing in all conditions, both shared some extraordinary partnerships that helped their team do extremely well even on challenging overseas tours. This marvelous partnership produced 6920 runs at an average of 50.51 from 143 innings. They shared 20 hundred and 29 fifty run stands with the best of 249 against Zimbabwe at Nagpur in 2000. They hold the world record for the most hundred-run partnerships. Also Read – Top 10 Highest overall partnership runs by a pair in International Cricket (All Stats Updated Till 11th December, 2015)