Travis Head and Jake Weatherald surpass Rohit-Gill to break massive Test feat vs ENG

Aussie pair go past Rohit-Gill [Source: AFP Photo]

The Australia vs England second Ashes Test match at the Gabba is evenly poised as the visitors posted 334 in their first innings, courtesy of a sublime maiden Test century on Australian soil by Joe Root. Australia needed a solid response from their openers, and the new opening pair of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald provided just that.

The duo weathered the early storm, and in a surprising move, Weatherald was the chief aggressor as Head took the back seat and Weatherald took down the English attack. England bowlers tried their best, but couldn’t stop the Aussie duo as they added 77 runs for the opening wicket, and surpassed the Indian pair of Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill in a huge Test feat.

The 77-run stand was the highest by any opening pair against England in a Day-Night Test match. The previous best was Rohit and Gill, who scored 49 unbeaten runs in the 2021 Ahmedabad Test match.

Other records achieved by the Aussie pair

This is also the joint-highest opening partnership for Australia in a day-night Test match. Usman Khawaja and David Warner added 77 runs against the West Indies in 2022, and now, Weatherald and Head have equalled the feat.

• The highest opening partnership by an Aussie pair is 77, and it is followed by David Warner and Matt Renshaw’s 70-run stand in 2016.
• Overall across all day-night games, this is the third-highest opening stand, with Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam from Pakistan adding 215 runs against the Windies in 2016, and Warner-Khawaja at the second place with 77-run stand.
• Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram’s 72-run partnership against Zimbabwe in 2017 occupies the fourth spot.

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