Brathwaite and Chanderpaul shatter 32-year-old opening partnership record held by Greenidge and Haynes
West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul broke a long-standing record for Test opening partnerships on Monday’s third day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo as the West Indies went to lunch on 374-2.
Resuming from their overnight score of 221-0 with Brathwaite on 116 and Chanderpaul on 101, the pair took their opening partnership to 336 before Brathwaite was trapped leg before wicket to Wellington Masakadza for 182. The score broke the record for the best-ever West Indies opening partnership of 298 by the West Indies iconic opening pair of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes that was made against England in 1990.
They also became the first opening pair to bat in excess of 100 overs in an innings in the 21st century only the second opening pair to face over 600 deliveries in a Test innings, falling just short of the record held by Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya, who had played 114.2 overs against Pakistan.
It is also the ninth-highest opening partnership in Test cricket history and the first time that both West Indies openers have gone past 150 in the same innings.
Brathwaite’s marathon knock lasted 312 balls and included 18 fours.
In a bid to accelerate the scoring rate, Kyle Mayers, who replaced Brathwaite scored 20 from 24 balls in a partnership of 37 with Chanderpaul before was bowled by Brandon Mavuta with the score at 373.
Dropped at deep backward square leg on 150, Chanderpaul remains unbeaten on 161 with Raymon Reifer on one at the other end.
Masakadza has so far taken 1-53 from 22 overs while Mavuda has figures of 1-99 from the 32 overs he has bowled so far.
Leighton Levy
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