Opening partnerships are at all times the spine of any group’s success, particularly because the format will get longer. In ODIs, it’s extremely essential for a group to have settled openers who can provide them a stable platform as a rule. The important thing attribute is their means to play alongside and assist each other.

The Indian group has at all times been blessed with sturdy openers, era after era, and even a stop-gap opener has given them success on this format. We are going to listing down the highest 10 opening stands for India in ODI cricket.

Highest Opening Partnership in ODI for India

Key insights from the above stats

4: The variety of instances the legendary duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly get featured on this listing. They performed as openers for India in 136 innings, amassing 6609 runs at an unbelievable common of 49.32 with 21 century partnerships general, and it’s not a shock that 4 of them discover a place right here. It is usually probably the most runs by any opening pair collectively within the historical past of ODIs.

258: India’s report ODI partnership for the opening wicket, and no prizes for guessing which two gamers have been concerned in it. Sure, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly smashed the Kenyan bowlers at Paarl on an eventful day in 2001. Whereas the grasp blaster Sachin blasted 132-ball 146 within the contest, Sourav Ganguly made 111 from 124 deliveries as India piled up an enormous 351/3 of their allotted overs.

This stand remained the very best ever for nearly 5 years till it was damaged by the Sri Lankan duo of Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya in 2006 in opposition to England. Now the information stand within the title of John Campbell and Shai Hope of the West Indies, who shared 365 runs between them in 2019.

Additionally Learn | Highest Partnership for Every Wicket in ODI Cricket

There are 3 different stands between Tendulkar and Ganguly that got here within the golden interval of ODIs, which is the tip to the beginning of the millennium.

252: These 2 gamers shared some memorable stands and one in every of them was the 252 in opposition to Sri Lanka within the closing of the Nidhas Trophy at Colombo in 1998. The two legends of Indian cricket determined to placed on a present, scoring centuries every and serving to India win the sport by 6 runs, thus clinching the title.

197: The duo’s unbroken partnership in opposition to Zimbabwe got here within the closing of the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy at Sharjah in 1998. India’s former skippers but once more stepped up on the essential sport by ending the chase of 197 unscathed. Sachin scored a superb 124, whereas the left-hander was unbeaten on 63.

193: One more function of this sensational Sachin-Sourav duo, however the distinction is that it got here in a shedding trigger. It was the primary match of the tri-nation sequence held in South Africa that additionally featured Kenya. India confronted the hosts in Johannesburg, and batting first, India managed to attain solely 279/5 regardless of each openers scoring centuries and their partnership stitching 193 runs off 211 balls. South Africa chased it down with 10 balls to spare.

196: There may be one different occasion the place Sourav Ganguly options on this listing, and it’s together with yet one more legendary Indian opener, Virender Sehwag. It got here in India’s stiff goal chase of 301 set by the West Indies at Rajkot within the 2002 sequence, and the duo took issues into their very own palms, making 196 for the primary wicket in simply 160 balls. Rain halted additional play quickly after Ganguly obtained out, and India gained by DLS.

201: If Sachin-Sourav have been well-known within the early a part of the 2000s, this duo of Gambhir and Sehwag took up the mantle for India within the decade to observe. They shaped a harmful mixture, and one in every of their well-known stands got here at Hamilton throughout India’s profitable tour to New Zealand, the place they gained each the ODI and Check sequence. One of many fundamental causes was this partnership between the two of them.

3: India’s present skipper Rohit Sharma options on the listing 3 instances, all of which with totally different companions.

210: This was in a well-known but one-sided win for India over their arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai in a 2018 Asia Cup sport. India chased a meagre goal of 238 runs, and the duo of Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan took on the Pakistani bowlers, scoring centuries every and mentioning their solely 200-run stand in ODIs up to now. This resulted in a crushing win for India by 9 wickets with 12 overs to spare.

Additionally Learn | Stats: Most 200 Partnerships in ODI

212: In a newer sport at Indore, India’s skipper Rohit Sharma mixed with the sensational Shubman Gill to provide India their seventh ever double-century stand for the opening wicket. The duo scored centuries at a brisk tempo, and the partnership lasted for a mere 157 balls for these runs, taking India’s complete to 385, leading to a simple win.

227: The 4th highest opening partnership for India and it got here between Rohit and KL Rahul. Whereas Rohit had one in every of his ordinary massive daddy knocks (159), Rahul scored a splendid century himself as India amassed a staggering 387 runs batting first.

231: Final however not least is Shikhar Dhawan’s second entry on this listing, this time with former skipper Ajinkya Rahane. They collectively scored an enormous 231 runs for the opening wicket in opposition to Sri Lanka at Cuttack again in 2014. Each scored centuries as India piled up 363 runs and gained by an enormous margin of 169 runs.

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