Top 5 highest opening partnerships in the World Test Championship

New Zealand thoroughly dominated Day 1 of the third Test against West Indies at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Thursday, December 18. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Kiwis went to stumps at 334-1 after 90 overs. Skipper Tom Latham and Devon Conway got the hosts off to an exceptional start, adding 323 runs for the first wicket in 86.4 overs.

The brilliant opening stand was broken when Latham was caught by Roston Chase in the slip cordon off West Indies pacer Kemar Roach's bowling. The New Zealand captain faced 246 balls for his 137, which featured 15 fours and a six. At stumps, Conway was unbeaten on 178 off 279 balls, while Jacob Duffy nightwatchman was not out on nine.

The Latham-Conway stand of 323 is now a record for the highest opening partnership in the World Test Championship (WTC). On that note, let's take a look at the top five highest opening partnerships in the WTC.

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#5 Zak Crawley & Ben Duckett (England) - 232 vs Pakistan in 2022

The England pair of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett may be struggling in the ongoing Ashes. However, back in December 2022, at the peak of 'Bazball', the duo added 233 against Pakistan in just 35.4 overs in the first Test in Rawalpindi, which the visitors went on to win the Test by 74 runs.

England won the toss and elected to bat first in the contest after which Crawley and Duckett went berserk. Crawley hammered 122 off 111 balls, hitting 21 fours. Duckett smashed 107 off 110 balls, with the aid of 15 fours. The blazing stand ended when Duckett was trapped lbw by Zahid Mahmood. Soon, Crawley was bowled by Haris Rauf, but England went on to post 657.

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#4 Abdullah Shafique & Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) - 252* vs Australia in 2022

The Pakistan opening pair of Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq added an unbroken 252 in the second innings of the first Test against Australia in Rawalpindi in March 2022. Shafique was unbeaten on 136 off 242 balls, while Imam-ul-Haq made 111* off 223. Earlier, Pakistan had posted 476-4 in their first innings (Imam-ul-Haq 157), while Australia had responded with 459. The Test ended in a draw.

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#3 Abid Ali & Shan Masood (Pakistan) - 278 vs Sri Lanka in 2019

Abid Ali and Shan Masood added 278 in the second innings of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi in December 2019. Masood scored 135 off 198 balls in his 299-minute stay, while Abid scored 174 off 281. Azhar Ali and Babar Azam also hit tons in this innings as Pakistan posted 555-3 declared. The hosts set Sri Lanka a target of 476 runs and won the contest by 263 runs.

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#2 Mayank Agarwal & Rohit Sharma (India) - 317 vs South Africa in 2019

The Indian duo of Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma created history when they became the first opening pair to notch up a 300-plus stand in the WTC. They achieved the feat against South Africa in Visakhapatnam in October 2019 in the first Test of the three-match series.

Rohit and Agarwal added 317 runs in 81.6 overs in India's first innings after the hosts won the toss and elected to bat first. Agarwal scored a brilliant 215, which came off 371 balls and featured 23 fours and six sixes. At the other end, Rohit, who was pushed up to open with no place in the middle order, responded with 176 off 244. Like Agarwal, he also struck 23 fours and six sixes.

India declared their first innings on 502-7. The hosts went on to win the Test match by 203 runs. Rohit followed up his 176 with 127 off 149 in the second innings, hammering 10 fours and seven sixes, winning the Player of the Match award.

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#1 Devon Conway & Tom Latham (New Zealand) - 323 vs West Indies in 2025

The New Zealand pair of Conway and Latham broke Rohit-Agarwal's opening partnership record in the WTC on Thursday. The duo added a brilliant 323 runs against West Indies in Mount Maunganui on Day 1 of the third Test.

New Zealand's previous highest opening stand in the WTC was also registered by the same pair. Conway and Latham added 183 against Pakistan in Karachi in December 2022. In overall Test cricket, Glenn Turner-Terry Jarvis' 387-run stand is the highest opening partnership for New Zealand. This feat was achieved against West Indies in Georgetown in April 1972.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert