Since cricket is a team sport, it requires everyone to contribute to the team’s cause in one way or another. And one such important aspect is building firm batting partnerships while playing in ODIs.
A strong batting partnership becomes even more crucial when teams are playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup. Batters have to play through tough situations and stitch partnerships to help their team put a mammoth score on the board.
In the 2015 edition, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels went on to build the highest partnership in the history of the ODI World Cup by scoring 372 runs together.
Do you want to know more about this partnership? Then read on, and let’s take a look at the top 10 highest partnerships in the ODI World Cup.
Highest Partnerships in ODI World Cup
| Players | Runs | Wicket | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlon Samuels, Chris Gayle (WI) | 372 | 2nd | Zimbabwe | Canberra | 24 Feb 2015 |
| Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid (IND) | 318 | 2nd | Sri Lanka | Taunton | 26 May 1999 |
| Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL) | 282 | 1st | Zimbabwe | Pallekele | 10 Mar 2011 |
| Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway (NZ) | 273* | 2nd | England | Ahmedabad | 5 Oct 2023 |
| David Warner, Steve Smith (AUS) | 260 | 2nd | Afghanistan | Perth | 4 Mar 2015 |
| David Warner, Mitchell Marsh (AUS) | 259 | 1st | Pakistan | Bengaluru | 20 Oct 2023 |
| David Miller, JP Duminy (SA) | 256* | 5th | Zimbabwe | Hamilton | 15 Feb 2015 |
| Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla (SA) | 247 | 2nd | Ireland | Canberra | 3 Mar 2015 |
| Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 244 | 2nd | Namibia | Pietermaritzburg | 23 Feb 2003 |
| Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid (IND) | 237* | 3rd | Kenya | Bristol | 23 May 1999 |
Key Stats
372: This is the highest batting partnership ever achieved in the World Cup. The West Indies’ mighty Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels were the destructors against Zimbabwe in a group match in 2015.
While batting first, the Windies lost their first wicket on the second ball of the innings. Then Marlon Samuels joined Gayle at No. 3, and both made sure that no further wickets fell, although Gayle lost his wicket on the final delivery of the innings.
Gayle utilised his power-hitting and notched up a wonderful double century in the pinnacle event. With that, he became the first batter to score a double ton in the World Cup. Samuels, on the other hand, crafted a composed century.
2: The 50-over tournament has seen only two 300+ partnerships since its inception in 1975. Apart from the above partnership, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid stitched together a 318-run partnership that helped India secure a thumping victory over Sri Lanka.
3: Sourav Ganguly, India’s former captain, and Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka’s opener, both feature in three 200+ partnerships for their respective teams in the ODI World Cup. Ganguly has partnered with Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virender Sehwag, while Dilshan has partnered twice with Upul Tharanga and once with Kumar Sangakkara. Dilshan and Sangakkara also shared one more partnership (195) that was just 5 runs shy of the 200 mark.
15: More than 15 200+ partnerships have been formed in the Cricket World Cup.
1: Out of those 200+ partnerships, only 1 belongs to batters from an associate team. The Netherlands batters Feiko Kloppenburg and Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk built a crucial partnership of 228 runs against Namibia that eventually helped the Dutch team register their first win in ODI cricket.
