Sanju Samson and Tilak Verma smash highest-ever T20 partnership for India

Kerala and Hyderabad combined for a record-breaking night in Johannesburg on Friday as India's Sanju Samson and Tilak Verma put up an unbeaten 210 runs for the second wicket against South Africa in the fourth T20I of the 2024 series.

It was the highest-ever partnership for any wicket for India. Samson scored 109* (56) with six fours and nine sixes, while Tilak smashed 120* in just 47 balls with the help of nine fours and 10 sixes.

The previous best partnership was Rinku Singh and Rohit Sharma's 190* against Afghanistan in Bengaluru in January. Now, Samson, interestingly has been involved in three of the top-four partnerships on the list, with his 176-run stand with Deepak Hooda in 2022 and a 173-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav last month the other two.

This was also Sanju's third T20I century and second in this series. He hit a magnificent 100 in the first game and followed it by two ducks and a century in the final game. For Tilak, who was allowed to bat at number three in the last game, this was a second consecutive T20I century.

This was also the first time in men's T20 internationals that a full-member nation had two centurions in a match. Thanks to their partnership, India ended the innings at a record 283/1 after 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma was the only other batter to get a hit, scoring 36 (18).

---

Where does Sanju Samson and Tilak Verma's partnership ranks for India?

In world cricket, Samson and Tilak's stand was also the best for the second wicket, with the previous best being Michael Levitt and Sybrand Engelbrecht's 193 for the Netherlands against Namibia.

If we change the filter to any wicket, this partnership ranks sixth-best with the top five all being opening stands. Japan's Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake and Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming are the table-toppers for their 258* opening partnership against China, also in February this year.

​