Test cricket is the oldest and toughest version of cricket, demanding skill, patience, and mental resilience over five long days. It includes everything that goes into a good Test match performance, batting partnerships stand out as the most defining. A solid partnership can frustrate bowlers, shift the momentum of the match, and, on occasion, determine the match’s result.
In this article, we will delve into the highest partnership in Test cricket history. Let’s look at the top 10 highest partnerships in Test cricket for any wicket.
Sri Lankan Legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene created history when they put on a mammoth 624 runs for the third wicket against South Africa in Colombo in 2006. It became the highest partnership in Test matches. This partnership stands to date as one of the best ones in the cricketing history.
In Test cricket, partnerships are crucial in shaping a team’s innings, as they build stability and create opportunities for the team to control the match from that point.
Here we will look at the 10 highest partnerships in Test cricket for any wicket. Have a look at this table.
| Partners | Runs | Wicket | Team | Opposition | Match Date |
| KC Sangakkara, DPMD Jayawardene | 624 | 3rd | Sri Lanka | v South Africa | 27-Jul-06 |
| RS Mahanama, ST Jayasuriya | 576 | 2nd | Sri Lanka | v India | 02-Aug-97 |
| AH Jones, MD Crowe | 467 | 3rd | New Zealand | v Sri Lanka | 31-Jan-91 |
| JE Root, HC Brook | 454 | 4th | England | v Pakistan | 07-Oct-24 |
| WH Ponsford, DG Bradman | 451 | 2nd | Australia | v England | 18-Aug-34 |
| Mudassar Nazar, Javed Miandad | 451 | 3rd | Pakistan | v India | 14-Jan-83 |
| AC Voges, SE Marsh | 449 | 4th | Australia | v West Indies | 10-Dec-15 |
| GS Sobers, CC Hunte | 446 | 2nd | West Indies | v Pakistan | 26-Feb-58 |
| KC Sangakkara, MS Atapattu | 438 | 2nd | Sri Lanka | v Zimbabwe | 14-May-04 |
| TT Samaraweera, DPMD Jayawardene | 437 | 4th | Sri Lanka | v Pakistan | 21-Feb-09 |
The highest partnership in the cricketing history was recorded by two Sri Lankan legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. In a match against South Africa in 2006, after the loss of early wickets, Sangakkara and Mahela decided to grind it out in the middle. They batted for more than 155 overs and scored unfathomable runs in the process.
The right-handed batters added a staggering 624 runs for the 3rd wicket. This partnership helped Sri Lanka in posting a mammoth total of 756/5d. It allowed them to win the match by an innings. Sangakkara scored 287 runs and Jayawardene ended up with 374.
We have another Sri Lankan pair at the second position in this list of highest runs partnership in Test. Roshan Mahanama and Sanath Jayasuriya put together 576 runs for the second wicket in a match against India about a decade before Kumar and Mahela.
They’ve also helped their team put together the highest total in the history of Test cricket. Sri Lanka posted a massive 952/6d against India in a drawn match. In the inning, Jayasuriya scored 340 and Mahanama contributed 225 with the bat.
Andrew Jones and Martin Crowe put together a marathon effort in order to avoid defeat against Sri Lanka in a match in 1991. The excellent batting stalwarts from New Zealand created a partnership of 467 runs for the third wicket. At the time, it was the highest partnership in test cricket.
After facing tough opposition from Sri Lanka, the New Zealand batting pair decided to not give in an inch to Lankan bowlers. They batted relentlessly and added 467 runs. Andrew Jones made 186 runs and Crowe got out for 299.
This partnership came in recently when England was touring Pakistan in 2024. In the first Test match, Pakistan posted an above 500 score in the first inning and England had to reply with something extraordinary to stay in the game. Joe Root and Harry Brook took it upon themselves to take England to a comfortable position. Both batsmen batted their hearts out and ended up with a 454-run partnership.
This partnership helped England to a massive 823/7d. Joe Root scored 262 runs and Brook scored a triple hundred with 317 runs.
Now let’s look at a partnership from the 1930s. In a match between England and Australia in 1934, the Australian legend Don Breadman was involved in a record-breaking partnership. The two Australians added 451 runs for the second wicket. It was the highest partnership in the Test at the time.
Breadman, regarded as the best batsman in the history of the game, contributed 244 and Bill Ponsford contributed 266 runs. The partnership is proof of the era dominated by Breadman.
There is another 451-run partnership, came in 1983 between Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad. In a match against their arch-rivals India in 1983, batting first in a Test, Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad added a mammoth partnership of 451 runs to take their team to 581/3d.
In the total score, Mudassar Nazar contributed 231 while Javed Miandad’s contribution was 280 runs. Their innings deflated the confidence of India and they ended up losing by an innings and 119 runs.
The next highest partnership in Test cricket came between Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh in 2015. The two Australians added 449 runs in the first inning against West Indies in Hobart. With the help of Voges’ 269 and Marsh’s 182, Australia posted a high total of 583 runs.
The West Indies team could not cope with the pressure and crumbled like a deck of cards. In the end, they lost the match by an inning and 212 runs.
This highest partnership came at a time when West Indies was a formidable opposition for any team. Everyone used to fear West Indies batsmen and bowlers. In 1958 against Pakistan, the West Indian pair of Conrad Hante and Garry Sobers created a record partnership of 446 runs.
This partnership allowed their team to post an intimidating total of 790/3d. Pakistan could not cope with the total and lost the match by an inning and 174 runs.
Sri Lankan players are known for high partnerships in Test cricket. In this instance, Kumar Sangakkara teamed up with his captain Marvan Atapattu to create a record partnership of 438 runs. Both players scored more than 200 runs each. Marvan Atapattu scored 249 runs and Sangakkara scored a handsome 270 runs.
It was one of the greatest partnerships in Test cricket that helped their team get past 700 runs.
To end the list, at number ten we have another Sri Lankan pair who scored 437 runs in 2009. Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera were batting against Pakistan when they decided to take their innings deep. Jayawardene scored 240 runs and Samaraweera ended up with 231 runs.
Their innings helped Sri Lanka post an intimidating total of 644/7d. However, Pakistan didn’t just give up, they put up a fight and took their team to 765/6d. In the end, the match ended in a draw.
In this list of top 10 Test match-highest partnerships, there is no partnership for the first wicket. The record for highest opening partnership in Test cricket is held by Graeme Smith & Neil McKenzie for 415 runs.
Here is the list of the Top three highest opening partnerships in Test cricket.
Partnerships are undoubtedly the foundation for successful Test innings. They are a genuine test of endurance, trust, and cricketing prowess. The partnerships recorded above have cemented their place in record books as well as our cricketing history.
As the game continues to develop, records will be broken, but shaping a solid partnership will remain as important as ever in Test cricket.
Ans: The highest partnership in Test cricket of 624 runs was recorded by two Sri Lankan legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in 2006.
Ans: Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle hold the record for longest partnership in ODI cricket. They added 372 runs against Zimbabwe in 2015 for the second wicket.
Ans: The highest partnership in T20I is registered by relatively unknown players from Japan. Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake and Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming from Japan scored 258 runs for the first wicket in a match against China.
