World record opening pair in Test cricket: Devon Conway and Tom Latham create history against West Indies

Tom Latham and Devon Conway stormed into the record books by doing something that had never been done before in Test cricket history. New Zealand's opening pair, who had smashed centuries in the first innings, replicated the feat in the second innings too. This is the first instance of an opening pair scoring twin centuries in a Test match.

On a flat batting surface at Bay Oval, Conway and Latham put on a 192-run opening stand to go with the 323-run stand that they added in the first innings. With a first innings lead of 155, the Black Caps needed to rattle up quick runs and the openers led the way with fast-paced tons. New Zealand raced away to 306-2 in just 54 overs with Kane Williamson (40* off 37) and Rachin Ravindra (46* off 23) hitting T20 mode.

Conway and Latham were also quite brisk with their run-scoring, and the highlight of their respective knocks was the intent in running between the wickets. Despite having slammed centuries in both innings, neither batter looked down on energy and were willing to put West Indies' fielders under more pressure.

New Zealand set West Indies a target of 462 with an hour's play left on the fourth day and another three sessions left. With a 1-0 lead, it is now upto the tourists to force the issue, if they want to level the series. Another 419 runs off potentially 98-100 overs isn't impossible, especially on a docile batting surface.

This nothing-to-lose mindset could free West Indies up as they look to chase history. In a game where two New Zealand batters have already created a world record, can West Indies' batters step up as a unit to scale a new peak?