Highest Second-Wicket Partnerships in ODI
Limited over’s cricket was started as a transition from 5-day game to one-day entertainment. While the format did see a change, the importance of building partnerships remained crucial in winning the games. Partnerships hold utmost importance in limited over’s cricket. It sets the foundation for big totals and also remains equally important while chasing a total.
Over the years, we have seen some sensational partnerships in white-ball cricket. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels hold the record for the highest partnership for any wicket in One-Day Internationals. In this article, we look at the top 5 highest partnership for 2nd wicket in ODIs:
#5 David Warner and Steve Smith (260 Runs)
David Warner and Steve Smith are two of the most prolific run-scorers for Australia across formats. The duo has together formed several partnerships for Australia. Being the only player to have made his debut without playing a single first-class game, David Warner has often shown the world why was rated so high early in his career.
On the other hand, Steve Smith is touted as the best player in Test Cricket of the current era. The duo holds the record for scoring the fifth-highest 1st wicket partnership in Test Cricket. Against Afghanistan in 2015, Steve Smith and David Warner stitched a 260-run partnership for the second wicket. David Warner scored 178 runs in that game, while Steve Smith too played a fine knock of 95 runs off 98 balls. Australia won that game by 275 runs.
#4 Aamer Sohail and Inzamam Ul-Haq (263 Runs)
Aamer Sohail formed a solid opening pair with Saeed Anwar for Pakistan during the 1990s. The duo scored a lot of runs together in Test as well as ODI cricket. Having said that, Aamer Sohail also amassed a lot of runs along with former skipper, Inzamam Ul-Haq.
They also hold the record for the fourth-highest second-wicket partnership in Test Cricket. Against New Zealand in 1994, Inzamam Ul-Haq and Aemer Sohail put on a record 263 runs partnership for the second wicket. As far as their individual runs are concerned, Aamer Sohail has scored 4780 and 2823 runs in 156 ODIs and 47 Tests respectively. Inzamam Ul-Haq, on the other hand, has 11,739 runs to his name in 378 ODIs. Besides, he has scored 8830 runs in 120 Tests.
#3 Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid (318 Runs)
Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, two of the greatest batsmen India has ever produced, sits at the third position in the list of highest second-wicket partnership in ODIs. The duo has been involved in countless memorable partnerships during the early 2000s.
The 21st match of 1996 ICC World Cup saw, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid going on a leather hunt. There was no stopping Ganguly and Rahul. The likes of Chaminda Vaas and Muralitharan looked clueless as the duo compiled together to amass 318 runs partnership for the first wicket.
India put on a huge total of 373 runs on the board in the first innings before restricting Sri Lanka to 216 runs in the second innings.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (331 Runs)
Who would have forgotten the epic partnership of 331 runs between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid against New Zealand in the second ODI in the year 1999? After Sourav Ganguly got out in the second over of the innings, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid controlled the innings and played some stellar shots during that partnership.
Sachin Tendulkar was the top-scorer of the match, scoring 186 runs off 150 balls. Rahul Dravid gave him great support with 153 runs off as many deliveries. In 50 overs, India posted a formidable 376-run total. New Zealand batsmen had no answer to that as they got bundled out on just 202 runs.
#1 Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels (372 Runs)
Two great hitters of the ball, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle were both in a mood to take on the bowlers and what followed was an epic partnership between the two. The partnership made a lot of records that day. Batting first against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup, Chris Gayle became the first player ever to score a double century in a world cup. Besides, he became the first non-Indian to score a double century in ODIs. The partnership of 372 runs between Gayle and Samuels is still the highest for any wicket in One-Day Internationals.
Chris Gayle scored 215 runs in that game off just 147 balls, while Marlon Samuels amassed 133 runs off 156 balls. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels top the chart in the list of top 5 highest run partnerships for 2nd-wicket in ODIs.
