India vs Australia: Highest Partnerships by Wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

India's quest to become the no. 1 ranked Test side has taken a perfect start as Rohit Sharma's men registered a comprehensive victory over Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Ahead of the second Test in Delhi, today we shall focus on some statistics yet again. The importance of partnerships in any format of the game is pivotal. Throughout the years, there have been some classic partnerships which have turned the game and played a massive part to change the dynamics of a series between these old foes.

Here are the highest partnerships in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for each wicket-

1st Wicket - Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan

Runs- 289

Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan added 289 runs in their opening stand against Australia in 2013. This is the highest partnership in the opening wicket in the history of this series. It happened in the 3rd Test in Mohali and Shikhar Dhawan scored 187 runs on his Test debut, while Vijay scored 153 runs.

2nd Wicket - Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara

Runs- 370

Murali Vijay and CHeteshwar Pujara added 370 runs for the second wicket, after the early dismissal of Virender Sehwag. It happened in the second Test of the 2013 series. Vijay (167) and Pujara (204) piled massive scores as India beat the Aussies by an innings and 135 runs. In this series, India dismantled Australia with a 4-0 series win.

3rd Wicket - Murali Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar

Runs- 308

Back in 2010, Murali Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar added 308 runs for the 3rd wicket. It was a two-match Test series and this partnership came in the second match in Bengaluru. Vijay scored 139 runs while the great Tendulkar scored a double century (214 runs) to help India post a decent total. India won the match by 7 wickets and completed a 2-0 series win.

4th Wicket - Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke

Runs- 386

India's trip to Australia in 2012 was a gloomy one, as they were beaten 4-0 in the series. In the 4th Test in Adelaide, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke punished India with a gigantic partnership of 386 runs. Ponting (221) and Clarke (210) both registered double centuries as the hosts Australia routed India by 298 runs.

5th Wicket - Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman

Runs- 376

This partnership arguably changed the fortunes of Indian cricket. It happened in the 2nd Test in Kolkata and India were staring a defeat, when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman rose from the ruins to take the game away from the indomitable Australia side of those days. Their gigantic partnership revived India who managed to win the game and restore parity in the series.

6th Wicket - Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist

Runs- 197

This happened in the 2001 series. Hayden and Gilchrist added some quickfire runs to put India under immense pressure in the first Test. They also went on to beat India to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

7th Wicket - Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja

Runs- 204

India's historic series win in Australia in 2019 was fuelled by some superb batting of the lower-middle order. And in the final Test, Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant stitched a 204-run partnership to ensure India was not slipping in the final hurdle. Pant scored a fantastic unbeaten 159, while Jadeja scored 81 runs to take India beyond 600 runs, thus helping them grind out a draw in the match.

8th Wicket - Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh

Runs- 129

In the controversy marred BGT of 2008, India played some fantastic cricket. In the infamous Sydney Test, Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh battled well to add 129 runs for the 8th wicket to give India a lead in the first inning. Tendulkar scored 154 runs with the bat, while Harbhajan added 63 with the bat. India, unfortunately, lost the match and slipped to a 2-0 deficit after the match.

9th Wicket - MS Dhoni and Bhuvnehswar Kumar

Runs- 140

MS Dhoni was one of the top performers in the 2013 BGT. The then Indian captain scored 326 runs in the series and batted in an aggressive style throughout all the matches. In the first Test in Chennai, Dhoni added 140 runs along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to take India beyond the 500 mark. Dhoni scored his solitary Test double-century in the match as India took a 1-0 lead with an 8-wicket victory.

10th Wicket - Moises Henriques and Nathan Lyon

Runs- 66

This happened in the Chennai Test in 2013 again. Both Moises Henriques and Nathan Lyon fought valiantly to add 66 runs to ensure Australia weren't slipping to an innings defeat in the match. Despite them adding 66 runs, Australia fell short as India chased down 50 runs in the second innings to win the match.