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 from the above stats
3: The number of times an Aussie pair has been featured in the list, and all of them include David Warner, arguably one of the greatest all-format opening batsmen of all time. He finds a place twice with Travis Head and once with Arron Finch. Surprisingly, there is no pair from either India or, for that matter, England in this list.
2: Only twice in the history of ODI has there been an opening partnership of 300 or more. The first was made by the Pakistani pair of Imam ul Haq and Fakhar Zaman in 2018 against Zimbabwe, and the West Indies duo of John Campbell and Shai Hope broke the record a year later against Ireland.
365: This is the highest opening partnership, and overall, it is the second-highest partnership for any wicket in ODI cricket. The owners of this record are the West Indies duo John Campbell (179) and Shai Hope (170), who shared this record-breaking stand of 365 off just 284 deliveries as the Windies piled up a massive 381 runs in that game against Ireland in Dublin.
304: This is the first-ever 300-plus stand for an opening pair in ODI cricket, and it came from the current Pakistan openers Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman. Batting first on a belter of a surface at Bulawayo, Pakistani openers massacred the home side’s bowling attack by adding 304 runs for the opening wicket in 42 overs, with Zaman becoming the first-ever ODI double centurion from the country of Pakistan.
Also Read | Top 10: Highest Individual ODI Scores by Pakistani Batsmen
2: As mentioned earlier, the pair of Travis Head and David Warner feature in the list twice, and both of these stands came 5 years apart. It is to be noted that the duo was not a regular opening pair, and Head was used as an opener sporadically.
284: The first of their stands came against Pakistan at Adelaide in 2017, and this is where Warner scored his career-best ODI score of 179. And along with Travis Head, who made 128, Australia registered their best-ever ODI partnership of 284 as they put up 369 runs on the board, resulting in a win by 57 runs.
269: The next marathon partnership between them came at the MCG in 2022 against England, where this time Travis Head made his best ODI score of 152 and Warner gave him solid company, scoring yet another century as Australia accumulated a massive 355 runs batting first.
258: David Warner comes in for the third time here, and this time his partner is Aaron Finch. India batted first, making just 255 runs, and the Aussie duo completed the riot by winning the game by 10 wickets. While Warner scored a brilliant 128, Finch remained unbeaten on 110 as Australia brushed aside the hosts in a clinical manner (under 38 overs).
Also Read | India vs Australia Head to Head in ODIs
Likewise, Upul Tharanga is the other player who features in this coveted list more than once, and both times with different partners.
286: The first of Tharanga’s incredible feats came against England, where he opened with the Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya, with whom he shared a then-record 286 stand for the first wicket. The match happened at Leeds, and Sri Lanka was chasing a mammoth total of 322.
It is usually a stiff target, especially in this era, but the dynamic duo had other ideas as they cantered through the run chase in a jiffy, adding their runs in just 32 overs, giving Sri Lanka a massive 8-wicket win with 12 overs to spare. Jauasuirya slammed a mouth-watering 152 off just 99 balls.
282: The other partnership in which Tharanga was involved was in a World Cup 2011 game against Zimbabwe at Pallekele. The duo of Tharanga and Dilshan added 282 for the first wicket, and both notched their respective centuries as Sri Lanka stoked up 327 runs on the board, which proved to be more than enough at the end. Moreover, this is the highest partnership for the first wickets in ODI World Cup history.
Another partnership of 282 was achieved for the opening wicket, and it was between the South African pair of Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla. They accumulated these runs during South Africa’s 279-run chase against Bangladesh at Kimberley in 2017, and they remained unbeaten till the end, with Quinton scoring a whopping 168.
The remaining partnerships are 292 by Bangladesh’s pair of Litton Das and Tamim Iqbal against Zimbabwe, and the other by New Zealand’s opening combo of McCullum and James Marshall in 2008.
