There is a saying in cricket that partnerships win games for the team, and this is especially important as the format gets longer. Whether it is ODIs or Tests, the need for long and huge batting partnerships is paramount for the batting team. This helps the batting team not just by piling up huge scores but also by frustrating and draining the fielding team to a large extent.
A big partnership most often results in the team’s win, but there are occasions when a team loses despite a monumental stand from one of their batting pairs. Here in this article, we delve into such occurrences where the team lost, even though a pair added a significant number of runs for any wicket.
Let’s look at the top 10 highest partnerships that came in losing cause in ODIs.
Highest Partnership in a Losing Cause in ODI
| Partners | Runs | Wicket | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi (AFG) | 242 | 6th | Sri Lanka | Pallekele | 9 Feb 2024 |
| Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten (SA) | 235 | 1st | India | Kochi | 9 Mar 2000 |
| Ijaz Ahmed, Saeed Anwar (PAK) | 230 | 3rd | India | Dhaka | 18 Jan 1998 |
| Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield (IRE) | 227 | 4th | Kenya | Nairobi | 2 Feb 2007 |
| Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (AFG) | 227 | 1st | Pakistan | Hambantota | 24 Aug 2023 |
| Andrew Flintoff, Andrew Staruss (ENG) | 226 | 4th | West Indies | Lord’s | 6 Jul 2004 |
| Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed (PAK) | 224 | 1st | India | Mirpur | 18 Mar 2012 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja (IND) | 223 | 5th | Sri Lanka | Colombo (RPS) | 17 Aug 1997 |
| VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh (IND) | 213 | 4th | Australia | Sydney | 22 Jan 2004 |
| Andrew Balbirnie, Harry Tector (IRE) | 212* | 3rd | Zimbabwe | Harare | 18 Jan 2023 |
(Check out other partnership-related articles here.)
Key Insights
Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai paired up for the highest ODI partnership in a losing cause. The duo’s 242-run stand fell short of taking Afghanistan to a win against Sri Lanka in the 2024 Pallekele ODI.
The 242-run partnership between Nabi and Omarzai is the second highest for the sixth or lower wicket in ODIs. This is also the highest partnership in an unsuccessful ODI run chase.
David Boon and Geoff Marsh were the first pair to put up a 200-plus run partnership in an ODI loss, as Australia couldn’t defend the 251-run target against India in 1986.
Boon scored 111 and Marsh brought up 104, the first instance of both openers smashing hundreds in the same ODI innings.
Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs paired up for a 235-run partnership for the first wicket, the highest opening stand in a losing cause in ODIs. While their effort helped South Africa reach 301 for 3, India chased down the total with two balls to spare in the 2000 Kochi ODI.
Mohammad Amir and Saeed Ajmal forged the highest 10th wicket stand in a lost ODI. The Pakistani pair forked out a 103-run partnership to almost pull off the 212-run chase against New Zealand in 2009, though they fell short by seven runs.
Amir aggregated a gritty 73-run knock (not out), the second-highest score by a No. 10 batter in an ODI innings.
The 158-run stand between Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey propelled Australia to 434 for 4 against South Africa in the 2006 Johannesburg ODI, the first 400-plus run total in the format. This is also the highest team total in a defeat in ODIs.
Zimbabwe’s Flower brothers – Andy and Grant – stitched together seven century stands in ODI losses, the most by a batting pair.
Their run aggregate is only bettered by India’s Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 2803 partnership runs in ODI losses.
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