Top 5: Highest Partnerships for Any Wicket in ODI Cricket

To win a cricket match, a team needs partnerships. And there were many instances when we witnessed high-scoring partnerships in ODI cricket, from Pakistan openers Zaman-Imam to West Indian top-order batters Gayle-Samuels.

In this article, we will talk about the top 5 highest partnerships for any wicket in ODI cricket.

5. Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman (304 Runs)

Pakistani openers Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman stitched a 304-run partnership for the first wicket against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, in 2018 while batting first.

Both openers started conservatively while Imam smashed poor balls from Ngarva to the fence. Zaman waited for the medium pacers and spinners to attack, and he went on to complete his half-century from 51 balls while taking on the left-arm spinner Masakadza to the cleaners.

Both openers made a mockery of the Zimbabwe bowlers, especially when Zaman started hitting Muzarabani, the best bowler of the day, while Zaman had no stopping. Imam slowly crawled to his hundred, completing it from 112 deliveries.

The partnership lasted for 242 deliveries. Imam was dismissed while trying to hit a slog sweep, which he miscued. Zaman remained not out and scored a double ton.

4. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid (318 Runs)

Indian opener Sourav Ganguly and the number 3 batter Rahul Dravid were involved in a record 318-run partnership against Sri Lanka in the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

India lost the wicket of S. Ramesh in the first over, and Dravid walked out to the middle while the ball was swinging. He played his shots and reached his half-century from 43 balls, while Ganguly played the role of an anchor who looked to play out the spell of threatening Vaas.

Ganguly completed his fifty from 68 balls. Once both the batters got set and used to the conditions, they looked to play deep, hitting the spinners accordingly.

Dravid completed his ton from 102 balls and smashed 45 runs in the next 27 deliveries before getting run out. Sourav was dismissed on the second last ball of the innings. He scored 183 runs from 158 balls.

3. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (331 Runs)

Dravid, in the same year, was part of another record partnership, this time with Sachin Tendulkar stitching a stand of 331 runs against New Zealand.

India lost the wicket of Ganguly in the second over. Despite an early wicket, Sachin played attacking cricket while Dravid was looking to play out the tough opening spells, and once set he also started playing his shots.

Both the batters played out the overs of spinner Daniel Vettori. They kept on rotating the strike and made bowlers unsettle and smashed boundaries against the medium pacers and part-time spinners.

Dravid scored 153 runs from 153 balls, while Sachin remained not out till the end, scoring 186 runs from 150 balls.

2. Shai Hope and John Campbell (365 Runs)

Caribbean openers Shai Hope and John Campbell scored 365 runs for the first wicket partnership in 2019 against Ireland. And the duo holds the record for stitching the highest opening stand in ODIs.

Both openers survived, scoring only 37 runs in the first powerplay while the bowl was swinging both ways. The shackles were broken when Barry McCarthy bowled a no-ball and John smashed it for a six, which was followed by consecutive boundaries by Hope.

In the middle overs, both batters kept on taking singles and doubles while hitting the bad bowls to the boundary. Both smashed spinners and accelerated against the pacers in the last 12 overs.

In the last 38 balls, John smashed 79 runs and Hope, in his last 38 balls, smashed 70 runs. Hope was dismissed for 170 runs from 152 balls while John got out at the score of 179 runs from 137 balls, helping their team to win the match by 196 runs.

1. Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle (372 Runs)

Former Caribbean players Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle hold the record for building the highest partnership for any wicket in ODI cricket. They achieved this feat against Zimbabwe during the Cricket World Cup 2015.

Zimbabwe got the wicket of Dwayne Smith in the first over and had to wait for the second till the last ball of the innings as Gayle scored 215 runs from 147 balls, hitting all the bowlers equally, and all Samuels had to do was to just take singles. Samuels scored 133 runs in the partnership from 156 balls.