Top 5 opening partnerships in the Women’s ODIs
It is very crucial in a cricket match for two batters to form an important partnership. It is the art of sharing the workload, building the innings, and building an understanding with your fellow teammate. While there have been many iconic partnerships in the Women’s ODI put up by the batters, there have been few instances where the opening batters have given a terrific start to their team’s inning adding most of the runs on the scoreboard.
Let us look at the top 5 opening partnerships in the Women’s ODI:
5. Tammy Beaumont & Laura Winfield-Hill- 235 runs vs Pakistan in June 2016
While opening for England in the game against Pakistan, Beaumont and Winfield-Hill put up a class batting display as they gave a brilliant start to their team. The duo stood strong for 38.3 overs and added 235 runs before Maham Tariq sent them packing in the 39th over.
4. Enid Bakewell & Lynne Thomas – 246 vs International XI in June 1973
Bakewell and Thomas set an English record by scoring 246 runs for the opening partnership. Back then, it was also the highest ever partnership in the history of Women’s ODI when the games used to be 60-overs a side. Their record remained unbroken for more than three decades before Caroline Atkins & Sarah Taylor scored 268 runs in 2008.
3. Reshma Gandhi & Mithali Raj- 258* vs Ireland in June 1999
Both Gandhi and Raj made their debut for the Indian team on June 26, 1999, and both slammed a ton each, putting up an unbeaten partnership to script their name in history books. Batting first, India finished the innings by scoring 258/0 as Ireland’s bowlers failed to restrict the openers from wreaking havoc. In the second innings, India players once again demonstrated their dominance as Ireland was restricted to 97/9 in 50 overs.
2. Caroline Atkins & Sarah Taylor- 268 runs vs South Africa in August 2008
Atkins and Taylor put up 268 runs while batting first against South Africa at the iconic Lord’s cricket ground. A double-century stand consisting of centuries from both the players helped England put up 310 runs, at the loss of three wickets, for the Momentum Proteas to chase. Taylor scored 129 runs while Atkins added 145 to complete the carnage.
1. Punam Raut & Deepti Sharma- 320 runs vs Ireland in May 2017
Indian opening batters Deepti Sharma and Punam Raut surpassed the record for the highest ODI partnership in history as the duo became the first opening pair to go past the 300-run mark. Their partnership of 320 runs still remains to be the highest in the world. The openers put India on the front foot with a 320-run stand that ended when Deepti Sharma was bowled after scoring 188 runs scoring her maiden century in a winning cause.
