5 biggest opening partnerships in ODIs
It’s difficult to find good opening partnerships in the game of cricket. While there are lots of strong opening batters around the globe right now, there aren’t as many opening combinations. Despite the restricted possibilities of batting in a 50-over cricket match compared to Test cricket, the ODI format has produced some spectacular opening partnerships.
Here are the 5 biggest opening partnerships in ODIs
5. Travis Head and David Warner- 284 runs vs Pakistan in 2017
Warner was paired with Travis Head who was just playing his second ODI as an opener. As the two put on a huge 284-run stand for the opening wicket, Warner, the experienced one, showed Head how to cling on to the ropes while opening with the bat. The two notched up their respective centuries as Warner registered his career-best ODI score of 179 in the game against Pakistan. The partnership still stands as the best by any Australian duo for any wicket.
4. Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga- 286 runs vs England in 2006
Jayasuriya and Tharanga had registered a record stand as the duo added 286 runs in 31.5 overs against England. England might have thought that they had the upper hand in the game after scoring 321 runs in the 50 overs, but what they had not imagined was a humungous opening stand by the two that helped Sri Lanka cover most of the chase and win the game by eight wickets with 75 balls to spare.
3. Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das- 292 vs Zimbabwe in 2020
Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das put up a beautiful 292-runs partnership to open the game with the bat, with the former remaining unbeaten for his knock of 128*(109) against Zimbabwe in 2020. The duo helped their team put up a big total of 322/3 as the bowlers restricted the visitors from chasing and struck them all out at 218 runs.
2. Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq- 304 vs Zimbabwe in 2018
In July 2018, the Pakistani duo surpassed the world record score for the biggest opening wicket partnership when they went past the Sri Lankan openers’ record to defeat Zimbabwe. The first-wicket partnership of 304 runs back then became the first-ever 300+ run partnership for the opening wicket as the duo of Zaman and Imam scripted history and the former remained unbeaten scoring 210* and bringing up his first-ever double-century.
1. John Campbell and Shai Hope- 365 vs Ireland in 2019
The West Indies duo hold the existing world record for the highest opening stand, having shared a 365-run stand against Ireland during the tri-nation series in Dublin. The instance was also the first time when both the opening batters scored 150+ runs as the batters took the first innings total to 381/3. Ireland, chasing the mammoth total, were cleaned up for 185 runs.
