Opening partnerships are something that gives a foundation to the batting team. A strong start by the openers will give the middle-order and the rest of the batters a sense of freedom to score big runs from the word go.
At the same time, a team succeeds if they have a pair that understands each other’s game and plays according to the situation. The understanding comes when the duo is an opening pair for a long time.
In this article, let’s take a look at the top 10 highest opening partnerships in ODIs.
Highest Opening Partnership in ODI
| Player | Runs | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Campbell, Shai Hope (WI) | 365 | Ireland | Dublin | 5 May 2019 |
| Imam ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman (PAK) | 304 | Zimbabwe | Bulawayo | 20 Jul 2018 |
| Tamim Iqbal, Litton Das (BAN) | 292 | Zimbabwe | Sylhet | 6 Mar 2020 |
| Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 286 | England | Leeds | 1 Jul 2006 |
| David Warner, Travis Head (AUS) | 284 | Pakistan | Adelaide | 26 Jan 2017 |
| Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla (SA) | 282* | Bangladesh | Kimberley | 15 Oct 2017 |
| Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) | 282 | Zimbabwe | Pallekele | 10 Mar 2011 |
| James Marshall, Brendon McCullum (NZ) | 274 | Ireland | Aberdeen | 1 Jul 2008 |
| David Warner, Travis Head (AUS) | 269 | England | Melbourne | 22 Nov 2022 |
| David Warner, Aaron Finch (AUS) | 258* | India | Mumbai | 14 Jan 2020 |
Key Insights
John Campbell and Shai Hope share the record for the highest opening partnership in ODIs. The West Indies duo stitched a 365-run stand together against Ireland in 2019.
The 365-run partnership between Campbell and Hope is the second-highest for any wicket in 50-over cricket.
Campbell and Hope scored 179 and 170 runs, respectively, making it the first instance of a West Indies opening pair smashing hundreds in the same ODI innings.
The 282-run partnership between Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan against Zimbabwe in 2011 is the highest by an opening pair in the ODI World Cup.
Tharanga featured in seven partnerships of 200 or more runs for the first wicket, the most by a batter in ODIs.
Three of Tharanga’s 200-plus partnerships came with Mahela Jayawardene, the most by an opening pair in ODIs. Tharanga had two such partnerships with Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan each, making him the only batter to be involved in two or more 200-plus stands with three partners in ODIs.
Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar recorded the most century stands for the first wicket, going past the 100-run mark 21 times for India in ODIs.
Ganguly and Tendulkar also aggregated the most partnership runs for the first wicket in ODIs, scoring 6609 runs in 136 innings together.
New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill recorded the highest run rate for an opening partnership in ODIs, forging a 105-run stand at 14.65 against England in the 2015 World Cup (minimum 100 runs).
During the above partnership, McCullum raised his fifty in 18 balls, the fastest by a batter in the ODI World Cup.
Guptill is the only batter to have featured in two 100-plus opening partnerships with a run rate of 14 or above. His other stand (118*) came with Tom Latham while chasing a 118-run target against Sri Lanka in 2015. Guptill contributed 93 of those runs, reaching his fifty off 17 balls, the fastest for New Zealand in ODIs.
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