A solid opening batting partnership sets the perfect tone and platform for the batting team. Here are the top 10 highest opening partnerships in ODI cricket-
| Sl. No. | Partners | Country | Versus | Total partnership | Date |
| 1 | John Campbell and Shai Hope | West Indies | Ireland | 365 | 5th May, 2019 |
| 2 | Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman | Pakistan | Zimbabwe | 304 | 20th July, 2018 |
| 3 | Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das | Bangladesh | Zimbabwe | 292 | 6th March, 2020 |
| 4 | Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | England | 286 | 1st July, 2006 |
| 5 | David Warner and Travis Head | Australia | Pakistan | 284 | 26th January, 2017 |
| 6 | Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla | South Africa | Bangladesh | 282* | 15th October, 2017 |
| 7 | Upul Tharanga and Tilakaratna Dilshan | Sri Lanka | Zimbabwe | 282 | 10th March, 2011 |
| 8 | James Marshall and Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | Ireland | 274 | 1st July, 2008 |
| 9 | David Warner and Aaron Finch | Australia | India | 258* | 14th January, 2020 |
| 10 | Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar | India | Kenya | 258 | 24th October, 2001 |
1. John Campbell and shai hope
John Campbell and Shai Hope top the chart of highest opening partnerships in ODI cricket. The duo smashed a total of 365 runs off just 284 balls versus Ireland in Dublin, Ireland. Campbell scored 179 runs whereas Hope ended his innings with 170 runs. West Indies went on to win the match by a mammoth margin of 196 runs.
2. Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman
The left-handed duo of Pakistan is second in the list of highest opening partnerships in ODI cricket with 304 runs versus Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Fakhar scored a double century and Imam hit 113 runs. On the bank of this partnership, Pakistan won the match by as many as 244 runs.
3. Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das
The third highest partnership among the highest opening partnerships in ODI cricket also came at the expense of Zimbabwe as batting first, Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das thrashed an opening stand of 292 runs at their home ground in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Liton was the man of the match with 176 runs and Tamim remained unbeaten at 126 runs. This partnership helped Bangladesh win the match by 123 runs by the D/L method.
4. Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya
Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya made the target of 322 runs set by England in Leeds, England look very easy as the duo smacked 286 runs for the first wicket off just 191 deliveries which helped Sri Lanka prevail over the home team with 8 wickets in hand and over 12 overs left. This partnership is fourth in the list of highest opening partnerships in ODI cricket.
5. David Warner and Travis Head
The Australian left-handed duo grabs the 5th spot in the top 10 highest opening partnerships in the ODI cricket table. Warner and Head have hardly opened together, but they surprised one and all, especially Pakistan in Adelaide, Australia with their opening stand of 284 runs off just 41.3 overs. Both the openers scored a century and the home team won the match by 57 runs.
6. Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla
Bangladesh felt the heat and agony in Kimberley when the opening pair of Quinton and Amla clobbered their way to the target of 279 runs as both remained unbeaten- Quinton at 168 runs and Amla at 110 runs and guided South Africa to a victory with over seven overs remain
7. Upul Tharanga and Tilakaratne Dilshan
The duo of Tharanga and Dilshan ranks 7th in highest partnerships in ODI cricket with 282 runs. Unfortunately, this is another partnership coming against Zimbabwe, this time in Pallekele, Sri Lanka won the match with a huge difference of 139 runs thanks to the opening partnership. Dilshan was the man of the match for his 144 runs and his partner Tharanga got out at 133 runs.
8. James Marshall and Brendon McCullum
New Zealand courtesy of Marshall and McCullum’s partnership of 274 runs, which is the 8th highest opening partnership in ODI cricket posted a humongous total of 402 runs to which Ireland had no answers as the Kiwis won by a staggering 290 runs! McCullum finished at 166 and Marshall ended his innings at 161.
9. David Warner and Aaron Finch
The Australian duo made a mockery of the 256 runs target set by India as the duo themselves chased it all with over 12 overs remaining. Both Warner and Finch remained unbeaten at 128 and 110 runs respectively. Had the target been a bit more, this opening pair could have found themselves at a higher position in the chart of highest opening partnerships in ODI cricket.
10. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar
The legendary opening pair of ‘Dada’ and ‘Master Blaster’ completes this elite list by grabbing the 10th spot with 258 runs partnership. Sachin scored 146 runs whereas Sourav accumulated 111 runs and India posted a total of 351 runs in Paarl, South Africa to which Kenya had no answers as India won by an insane 186 runs.
FAQs
- What is the highest opening partnership in ODI cricket? – 365 runs
- Who has scored the highest opening partnership in ODI cricket? – John Campbell and Shai Hope
- What is the highest opening partnership in cricket? – 415 runs by Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith
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