Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill made the run chase of 179 against West Indies look like a walk in the park. The massive opening partnership helped India win the fourth T20I by nine wickets with three overs to spare. The 165-run partnership rewrote T20I record books as well.
The 165-run partnership is now the highest opening partnership against West Indies in the format. The previous best belonged to Pakistan's Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan who shared a 158-run opening stand in Karachi in 2021.
It is India's highest partnership in a successful run chase. The previous best belonged to Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant. They put on 130 runs for the third wicket against West Indies in Chennai in 2018.
It is India's joint-highest opening partnership. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma shared a 165-run opening partnership against Sri Lanka in Indore in 2017. However, the record for the highest partnership for India in T20Is for any wicket belongs to Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson. They shared a 176-run partnership against Ireland in Malahide in 2022.
Jaiswal remained unbeaten for 84 off 51 deliveries including 11 fours and three sixes. Gill got out after scoring 77 runs from 47 balls. He lost his wicket to Romario Shepherd in an attempt to clear the boundary. He smashed five sixes and three fours during his stay at the crease.
Aged 21 years and 227 days, Jaiswal became the fourth-youngest India to score a T20I half-century. The list is topped by Rohit Sharma (20 years and 143 days), Tilak Varma (20 years and 271 days) and Rishabh Pant (21 years and 38 days).
Jaiswal was adjudged the ‘Player of the match’ for his maiden half-century in the format. Jaiswal revealed that Indian Premier League (IPL) experience helped him against Jason Holder and Obed McCoy.
“I have played a lot of balls against them, helped me to read them,” he said.
The southpaw lauded his opening partner Gill as he said, ”It was really amazing the way we were talking and the way we were taking singles and understanding each other. He batted really well. The way he was rotating the strike, it's really important to build the partnership.”
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