The successful teams in ODI cricket historically have had strong opening pairs. The batters who are opening the batting hold the mantle to lay a strong foundation for their respective teams, be it any important and more so in ODI cricket. With 50 overs to be batted in this longest white-ball format, a good start is paramount for a team to post a big score and that is why a team needs a prolific opening pair.
A team would benefit from having a long-term opening pair who give them dominant starts consistently and not just limited to only a handful of innings. Here is the list of opening pairs who have held their own over a long period and dominated this format.
Highest Average as Opening Pairs in ODIs
| Pair | Innings | Runs | Average | Highest Partnership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (IND) | 32 | 2124 | 68.51 | 212 |
| Ajay Jadeja, Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 22 | 1315 | 59.77 | 176 |
| Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy (ENG) | 50 | 2922 | 58.44 | 174 |
| Adam Gilchrist, Simon Katich (AUS) | 26 | 1442 | 55.46 | 196 |
| Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes (WI) | 102 | 5150 | 52.55 | 192* |
| Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder (NZ) | 22 | 1069 | 50.9 | 166 |
| Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag (IND) | 38 | 1870 | 50.54 | 201* |
| Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 136 | 6609 | 49.32 | 258 |
| Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 24 | 1126 | 48.95 | 179 |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle (WI) | 43 | 1947 | 48.67 | 193 |
Key Stats
Among the 94 different pairs that have opened an ODI innings for their respective innings 20 or more times, the legendary Indian duo of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar have amassed the maximum runs (6609). They have also played the maximum innings (136) as an opening pair at an average of 49.32.
However, they are not the holders of the best batting average and that spot is taken by the current Indian opening duo Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, who averages a superb 71.96 in the 28 innings they have batted together.
The Ganguly-Tendulkar duo had a 100-run stand 21 times, the most for any opening pair followed by Shikhar Dhawan & Rohit Sharma’s tally of 18 and Adam Gilchrist-Matthew Hayden’s 16.
Gilchrist and Hayden had crossed the 50-run stand 45 times, the most by any pair. Ganguly-Tendulkar pair had 44 such partnerships followed by Gardon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, who had 39.
10 other pairs have averaged more than 45 for the opening wicket. This includes prominent opening duos like AB de Villiers & Graeme Smith (48.66), Adam Gilchrist & Matthew Hayden (48.39), Aaron Finch & David Warner (47.94), Ibrahim Zadran & Rahmanullah Gurbaz (47.81), Hashim Amla & Quinton de Kock (46.64), Herschelle Gibbs & Gary Kirsten (46.52), Martin Guptill & Tom Latham (45.90), Brad Haddin & Shane Watson (45.78), Mark Taylor & Mark Waugh (45.60), Shikhar Dhawan & Rohit Sharma (45.55), and Tillakaratne Dilshan & Upul Tharanga (45.12).
In this criteria, Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman hold the record of sharing the highest opening partnership (304). They have accumulated 2497 at an average of 43.05 in 60 innings.
However, the highest opening stand ever in ODI cricket is owned by West Indies’ Shai Hope and John Campbell, who made 365 runs for the first wicket versus Ireland back in 2019.
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