Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley created history at Manchester vs India
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley took the game away from India
- The English openers posted 166 runs in just 31.6 overs
- Both players narrowly missed out on centuries
Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley etched their names in the history books with a huge world record during the second day of play in the fourth Test match between England and India that is currently taking place at the Old Trafford Cricket Stadium in Manchester.
The England opening pair put up a 166-run opening stand in just 31.6 overs as they took the attack back to India after the visitors posted a total of 358 on the board following Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first at the toss. Crawley put a poor run of form behind him with a knock of 84 in 133 balls while Ben Duckett continued his golden run with a 100-ball 94.
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley Create History
Duckett and Crawley’s partnership came at a run-rate of 5.18, making it the third instance of the pair putting a stand of more than 150 runs at a scoring rate above 15. Previously, they put up an opening partnership of 233 against Pakistan (Rawalpindi, 2022) and 231 against Zimbabwe (Nottingham, 2025) at a scoring rate of 6.94 and 6.53, respectively.
Crawley and Duckett have become the first pair in history to have three 150+ partnerships at a scoring rate above 100. Overall, there have been 102 partnerships in Test cricket, with 14 pairs having multiple instances, but just Crawley and Duckett doing it three times.
14 Pairs With Multiple 150+ Partnerships At 5+ RR
| Player (Country) | Times |
| Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett (England) | 3 |
| Michael Clark, David Warner (Australia) | 2 |
| Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (England) | 2 |
| Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (England) | 2 |
| Harry Brook, Joe Root (England) | 2 |
| Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant (India) | 2 |
| Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag (India) | 2 |
| Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag (India) | 2 |
| Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (England) | 2 |
| Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden (Australia) | 2 |
| Adam Gilchrist, D Martyn (Australia) | 2 |
| Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (Australia) | 2 |
| Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson (New Zealand) | 2 |
This was also the 17th opening partnership in the history of more than 150 runs, with runs being scored at quicker than five runs per over (RPO). Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag are the only other opening pair to achieve the feat twice.
Meanwhile, this was Crawley and Duckett’s fourth century partnership as faster than 5 RPO. Only Bairstow-Root and Gambhir-Sehwag (5 each) have more.