As we discussed in a previous article about the Highest partnership for each wicket for India in Test cricket, in this article we will do the same thing for the ODI format of the game. Odi cricket has been the strength of the Indian team since the historic win at the 1983 World Cup in England. India has produced some of the best batters to have ever played the white ball game. From the generation of Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India’s ODI game has come such a long way.
In the almost 50 year history of the ODI format of cricket, there have been big partnerships by the Indian batters for every wicket and some of them have been match winning partnerships over the years. Let’s look at the Highest partnership for each wicket for India in ODIs.
1st Wicket - Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar (258 Runs):
Probably the most iconic and destructive opening pair in the history of ODI cricket and they have been doing it for a number of years for the Indian team and in this match they set a record. Both Sourav and Sachin got off to a rollicking start as both these great players tore apart the Kenya bowling and they each made amazing centuries and India won that match.
Also Read | Highest opening partnerships in ODIs
2nd Wicket - Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (331 Runs):
This legendary partnership was where both Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid got their highest ODI score of their careers and they absolutely destroyed the great New Zealand bowling attack that day and just kept on batting and hitting fours and sixes to each part of the ground as Sachin and Rahul made 186* and 153 respectively.
3rd Wicket- Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar (237* Runs):
The iconic pair who held the record for the 2nd wicket also hold the record for the 3rd wicket and this clearly shows that these two loved batting with each other and pummeling the opposition attack. India were at 92-2 when these two came out and since then they dominated the game and were in an attacking mode and they both made excellent hundreds to win India the match against Kenya.
4th Wicket- Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja (275* Runs):
This partnership is one of the most iconic partnerships in ODI History as in this match India were reeling at 25-3 and then came out these two batters and from ball 1 , they went on the aggressive and counter attacked the bowling attack and it worked perfectly as Mohammad Azharuddin got a score of 150+ and Ajay Jadeja scored a magnificent century to rescue India and win the match.
Also Read | Highest partnerships by Wicket in ODI History
5th Wicket- Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja (223 Runs):
This partnership came during a change of over 300 runs and where the other batters of Team India got out cheaply and it was down to these two again to win India an improbable match and they came mighty close to doing it. They completely decimated the great Sri Lankan attack and played great cricket and slowly built a partnership and as a result both these greats got incredible centuries for India.
6th Wicket- Ambati Rayadu and Stuart Binny (160 Runs):
This partnership was the rescuer of India in this match against Zimbabwe and the other batters could not do much and Ambati Rayadu was stuck alone and then came Stuart Binny and both of them stitched a great partnership that took India to a respectable score and eventually won the match.
7th Wicket- MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin (125 Runs):
This innings was a MS Dhoni show as he was the only batter to show some grit,skill and determination in this match and it wasn’t until Ashwin came out and gave Dhoni the helping hand he needed and they both took India to a par score but unfortunately it was not enough against a good Pakistan team.
Also Read | Highest partnerships in ODI History
8th Wicket- MS Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (100* Runs):
It was a partnership that came in a tricky run chase against Sri Lanka and the Indian middle order could not contribute much in this Innings and then ur was the pair of Dhoni and Bhuvi that rescued India as they both played attacking cricket and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got a valiant fifty but it wasn’t enough to win the match for India.
9th Wicket- Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani (126* Runs) :
The match better known as the Kapil Dev match where victory for India was important to go through and India were at 17-5 in this match and then came the captain Kapil Dev and he just needed a partner to stick around and Syed Kirmani did that for him and Kapil Dev then played the greatest innings ever scoring 175* and single handedly winning India that match.
10th Wicket- Harbhajan Singh and Laxmipathy Balaji (64 Runs):
This match was not a good one for India but it was the last wicket partnership between these two that salvaged some pride for India as they did not lose by a huge margin. Harbhajan Singh scored a good 41 but it wasn’t enough on that day.
