5 slowest partnerships in Test history

It was a day to remember for Sri Lanka and one to forget for Australia

As the oldest format of the game, Tests are known for having run rates slower than all the other formats of the game. While the advent of ODIs and T20Is has increased the run rates in the longest format of the game, sound technique and good bowling has meant that it still is not very high.

The fact that three of the top five slowest partnerships in the history of Tests were achieved in the last three years and two of them feature AB de Villiers, arguably the most destructive limited-overs in the world, shows that T20s has done nothing to make Test partnerships faster.

Here is a look at the slowest partnerships in the history of Tests:

Note: Only partnerships that lasted more than 100 balls were considered for the purpose of this list.

#5 Kyle Abbott and AB de Villiers - 27 off 177 balls (0.91) against Australia at Cape Town in 2014

Abbott was under intense pressure in only his second Test

You don't get a harsher welcome into Tests than having to defend for your life, when you are playing in only your second Test. But that is exactly what Kyle Abbott had to contend with. Along with AB de Villiers, he valiantly held fort for nearly 30 overs before falling to James Pattinson.

Needing 511 to win in the fourth innings against an Australian attack containing Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson was never going to be easy. And that task became even more difficult after the Aussies ran through the Proteas top-order and reduced them to 68-4. And that is when Abbott came to the crease.

Despite playing in only his second Test, he showed plenty of application and along with AB, battled through everything the visitors threw at them for nearly 30 overs. As defence was the name of the game, only 27 runs were scored and when Abbott was eventually dismissed the pair had added just 27 runs at a run rate of 0.91, which takes fifth place on this list.