Top five partnerships in World Cup history
The World Cup is a special occasion for every cricketer. The quadrennial mega event is a stage where performers can etch their names in cricket history for a long time. Every century and every five-wicket haul has its own prestige.
Among the batting records, partnerships are a fascinating aspect. It was Arjuna Ranatunga and Arvinda de Silva’s partnership that won Sri Lanka their maiden world title. There have been some mammoth stands in World Cup’s history, here are the five highest.
5. David Miller and JP Duminy – 256 runs
In the 2015 World Cup group game at Hamilton (New Zealand), South Africa stumbled to 87/4 against Zimbabwe. Miller and Duminy joined hands to stitch together a 256-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Both the left-handers completed their individual centuries (Miller 138 not out, Duminy 115 not out) and carried South Africa to 339/4. They ended up winning by 62 runs.
4. David Warner and Steve Smith – 260 runs
After the early loss of Aaron Finch, Warner and Smith refused to concede any further ground against Afghanistan in the 2015 World Cup group match. At Perth, these two stalwarts added 260 runs for the second wicket. Warner registered a mammoth score of 178 as Australia rocketed to their highest total in the World Cup – 417/6.
3. Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan – 282 runs
The Sri Lankan opening pair notched the record for highest first wicket partnership in tournament’s history. Against Zimbabwe at Pallekele in the 2011 World Cup, Tharanga-Dilshan remained unseparated for 282 runs in 44.4 overs. Tharanga posted 133 while Dilshan scored 144 in the 139-run victory.
2. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid – 318 runs
The little ground at Taunton was treated to a feast of runs as the Indian pair tore apart Sri Lankan bowling. Ganguly and Dravid raised the first 300-plus runs partnership in ODI cricket. Former achieved India’s highest individual score with a spectacular 183 while the latter added 145 runs on his own. India defeated Sri Lanka by 157 runs in this group stage match of the 1999 World Cup.
1. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels – 372 runs
Zimbabwe had to wait for 298 balls to pick up the second wicket of the match. At Canberra in the 2015 World Cup group game, Panyangara dismissed Dwayne Smith on the second ball of the match. From there, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels took over and blasted Zimbabwean bowling to all corners. The duo stitched a record partnership of 372 runs. This is the best tally for any wicket in ODI cricket. Chris Gayle, first double-centurion of the World Cup, was dismissed on the last ball of the match with the score of 215. Samuels finished with 133 not out.
