India’s KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma hold the record for most 50-plus run partnerships in T20Is, having put on fifty-plus stands a record 14 times in T20 internationals.
The Indian duo achieved this milestone during their Super 4 encounter in Asia Cup 2022 against arch-rivals Pakistan. Overall, they have combined for 14 fifty-plus run partnerships in T20Is and have made 1,628 runs in just 30 innings together.
Accustomed to batting together and comfortable in each other's presence at the crease, Rahul and Rohit have stitched together as many as five century stands between them in T20Is.
The first of these five hundred run stands between the pair came against Sri Lanka in 2017. India beat Sri Lanka by 88 runs in that match as Rohit and Rahul joined forces to stitch together a 165-run stand at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Rohit even struck a century in this game, as the pair registered their highest partnership in T20Is.
Their next 100-run partnership came against England at Manchester in 2018, when Rohit and Rahul put on 123 runs together to guide the Men in Blue to an eight-wicket win. Rahul also reached the magical three-figure mark in this contest by scoring a 54-ball 101.
The star Indian batting duo then struck a 135-run stand against West Indies in 2019 as India won the contest by 67 runs at the Wankhede.
They also made two 100-run stands in 2021. First, they combined to score 140 runs together against Afghanistan in a T20 World Cup match that India won by 66 runs on November 3.
Rahul and Rohit, then, struck 117 runs together just 16 days later against New Zealand at Ranchi. India won the match by seven wickets.
The Rahul-Rohit pairing will likely keep hold of their top position for some time, given one-half of the pair who are second on this list has retired.
Ireland’s Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien feature second on this list. The Irish pair registered 13 fifty-plus run partnerships in T20Is, accumulating 1,720 runs from their 49 innings together before O’Brien’s retirement in 2022.
Paul Stirling, in fact, features twice on this list since he has also stitched 12 fifty-plus run partnerships in T20Is with the current Irish captain Andrew Balbirnie. They have combined to score 1,454 runs in 52 innings together.
Former Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer, along with George Munsey, and New Zealand’s Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson are fourth and fifth respectively on this list.
While Kyle Coetzer and George Munsey have 12 fifty-plus run partnerships and 1,577 runs together from 46 innings, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson have recorded 12 fifty-plus run partnerships and combined for 1,389 runs in just 30 innings with each other.
Most 50-plus run partnerships in T20Is
| Partners | Innings | Runs | 50-plus run partnerships |
| KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma (IND) | 30 | 1,628 | 14 |
| Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling (IRE) | 49 | 1,720 | 13 |
| Andrew Balbirnie and Paul Stirling (IRE) | 52 | 1,454 | 12 |
| Kyle Coetzer and George Munsey (SCO) | 46 | 1,577 | 12 |
| Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson (NZ) | 30 | 1,389 | 12 |
Author: Andre Pitts
Featured photo: AFP / AAMIR QURESHI
