The third wicket partnership in ODIs more often decides the fate of the team’s batting outcome. This stand has to provide stability to the batting side when the team has lost early wickets, then stabilise the innings and prevent further collapses.
If the team had a great start to their innings, then the third wicket pair can further consolidate the innings, reaping on the solid foundation and accelerating the run rate in the later overs.
That said, we will look at the top 10 highest partnerships for the third wicket in ODI cricket.
Highest 3rd Wicket Partnership in ODI
| Players | Runs | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (WI) | 258 | Bangladesh | Basseterre | 25 Aug 2014 |
| Hashim Amla, Rilee Rossouw (SA) | 247 | West Indies | Centurion | 28 Jan 2015 |
| Steve Smith, George Bailey (AUS) | 242 | India | Perth | 12 Jan 2016 |
| Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (SL) | 239 | West Indies | Hambantota | 26 Feb 2020 |
| Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (SA) | 238 | Pakistan | Johannesburg | 17 Mar 2013 |
| Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 237* | Kenya | Bristol | 23 May 1999 |
| Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn (AUS) | 234* | India | Johannesburg | 23 Mar 2003 |
| Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (IND) | 233* | Pakistan | Colombo (RPS) | 10 Sep 2023 |
| Josh Lawrenson, Asa Tribe (JER) | 232 | Papua New Guinea | Windhoek | 1 Apr 2023 |
| Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed (PAK) | 230 | India | Dhaka | 18 Jan 1998 |
Key Insights
The highest third wicket partnership in ODI cricket came between the West Indies duo of Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin, as they put together 258 runs against Bangladesh in 2014.
The 232-run stand between Jersey’s Josh Lawrenson and Asa Tribe against Papua New Guinea in 2023 is the highest by an associate pair for the third wicket in ODIs. This is also the highest partnership by an associate pair for any wicket in ODIs.
England’s Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan recorded the highest run rate for the third wicket stand in ODIs (minimum 100 runs), scoring at 12.40 to forge a 184-run partnership against the Netherlands in 2022. The remarkable partnership propelled England to 498 for 4, the highest team total in 50-over cricket.
The unbroken 237-run partnership between Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar against Kenya in 1999 is the highest for the third wicket in the ODI World Cup. This is also the highest partnership for the third wicket in an away-from-home ODI.
Virat Kohli has been involved in six 200-plus run partnerships for the third wicket, the most by a batter in ODIs.
Two of Kohli’s 200-plus stands came with Gautam Gambhir, the joint-most by a pair for the third wicket in ODIs. South Africa’s Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers are the other pair to achieve this feat.
New Zealand’s Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson forged 13 century partnerships for the third wicket, the most by a pair in ODIs.
Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara scored the most partnership runs for the third wicket in ODIs, aggregating 4116 runs in 97 innings together.
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