Highest 1st Wicket Partnerships in ODI
For a side batting, nothing is more important than stitching partnerships in white-ball cricket. Nothing is perhaps more pleasant than watching two batsmen putting together a great partnership. It just makes it hard for the opposition to come back into the game once a partnership develops, especially in the 50-over game.
A great partnership at the top of the order makes it even harder, as it sets the foundation for a big total. The 50-over game, over the years, has seen a lot of stellar partnerships being made. On numerous occasions, we have seen two players combining to form great partnerships and went on play till the very end of the innings.
In this article, we look at the 5 highest 1st wicket partnerships in ODIs:
#5 David Warner and Travis Head (284 Runs)
On a national holiday in 2017, David Warner and Travis Head wrote their names in the history books as the duo put on the highest ODI partnership for Australia. Opening the innings for Australia, David Warner and Travis compiled together a stellar 284-run partnership, before David Warner lost his wicket in the 41st over.
The Southpaw played an exemplary knock of 179 runs off 128 balls, while Trevis Head, on the other hand, amassed 128 runs off 137 balls. Australia scored 369 runs in the first innings. Pakistan, in reply, scored 312 runs, thereby handing 57-run victory to the Aussies.
#4 Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya (286 Runs)
Ahead of the five-match series against England, Sri Lanka was leading it 4-0. An outstanding partnership between Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya made it a series whitewash for the team. Batting first, England had put on a solid 321-run total in the first innings, courtesy a brilliant century from Marcus Trescothick.
However, his knock went in vain as the opening pair of Jayasuriya and Tharanga put on a record 286-run partnership for the opening wicket to take the game away from the hosts. Tharanga scored 109 runs off 102 balls, while Jayasuriya amassed 152 runs off 99 balls as Sri Lanka chased down the total in just 32.2 overs.
#3 Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das (292 Runs)
Mashrafe Mortaza was playing his last match as captain and the team gave him an ideal send-off with a 123-run victory over Zimbabwe in the final match of the series. Ahead of the final match of the three-match series, Bangladesh was leading the series 2-0. A record partnership for the opening wicket helped Bangladesh whitewash Zimbabwe at Sylhet.
Tamim Iqbal scored 128 runs off 109 balls, while Liton Das played a sensational 176-run knock off 143 balls as Bangladesh scored 322 runs in the first innings. Tamim and Liton’s partnership sits third in the list of 5 highest 1st wicket partnerships in ODIs.
#2 Imam ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman (304 Runs)
After winning the toss and batting first, Imam ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman made a mockery of Zimbabwe’s bowling attack in the fourth ODI in 2018. The duo went on a leather hunt as they scored put on a run-fest at Bulawayo.
Fakhar Zaman became the first batsman to score a double century in ODIs. He scored 210 runs off156 balls, while Imam-ul Haq too compiled a great 113-run knock off 122 balls. Pakistan won the game comfortably by 244 runs.
#1 John Campbell and Shai Hope (365 Runs)
West Indies’ opening pair of John Campbell and S Hope entered their name in the record books in the first match of the Tri-nation series against Ireland in 2019 as they compiled together to put on the highest ever first wicket partnership in ODIs. Campbell played a sensational 179-run knock, while Shai Hope too complemented him beautifully with 170 runs to his name in 152 runs.
The duo helped the team post a mammoth 381-run total in the first innings. Ireland could only manage to score 185 runs in the second innings, thereby handing a 196-run win to the Caribbeans.
