Indian openers off late have not been giving them the kind of start as the team wanted them to. It was in in 2014 that Indian openers recorded a 200+ run partnership last. Since then there has been no such opening starts. Here are the top eight opening partnerships in ODIs for India.
Out of top 10 match winning Dhoni-Yuvraj partnerships, six have come while chasing
Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar Vs Kenya at Paarl on 24th October 2001: India won the toss and chose to bat first. This decision was rightly supported by the Indian openers. Their 258-run opening stand helped India to reach to a massive total of 321 in 50 overs. Sachin Tendulkar’s 146 and Saurav Ganguly’s 111 helped India reach such a huge score. Chasing 322, Kenya were restricted to just 165 in 50 overs. India won the match by 186 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly Vs Sri Lanka at Colombo on 7th July 1998: Sachin Tendulkar 128 and Saurav Ganguly’s 109 gave India a start they wanted. Their 252-run opening stand allowed India to score 307 in 50 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka fell just 6 runs short.
Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane Vs Sri Lanka at Cuttack on 2nd November 2014: Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field first. This decision proved very costly for the visitors. The Indian openers made them to pay the price. Their 231-run opening stand sealed the match for the hosts. Ajinkya Rahane’s 111 and Shikhar Dhawan’s 113 sealed the match in India’s favour. India scored 363 in their 50 overs. Sri Lanka only managed 194 runs. In the end India won by 169 runs.
Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag Vs New Zealand at Hamilton on 11th March 2009: In a reduced 47 over game, the Kiwis batted first and scored a decent 270 runs. In reply Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir gave India a perfect, unbeaten start. India cruised to 201 in just 23.3 overs. India won by 84 runs due to D/L method.
Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly Vs Zimbabwe at Sharjah on 13th November 1998: In Coca Cola Champions Trophy final, India won the toss and elected to field first. Indian bowlers did a very good job after restricting Zimbabwe for just 196 in 50 overs. India won that final with ease. Thanks to Sachin Tendulkar’s 124 and Saurav Ganguly’s 63 runs. The openers shared an unbeaten 197 runs partnership to give India an excellent win.
Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag Vs West Indies at Rajkot on 12th November 2002: India’s decision to field proved very costly after West Indies scored 300 in 50 overs. The hosts needed a good opening start to chase down this target. In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag provided the good opening start. The openers added 196 runs in 26.4 overs. Saurav Ganguly scored 73 and Sehwag was unbeaten on 114. In the end India won this match by 84 runs due to D/L method.
Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly Vs England at Colombo on 22nd September 2002: India chased down the target of 270 runs comfortably. Thanks to good opening partnership of 192 between Sehwag and Ganguly. Their partnership steered India home. Sehwag contributed 126 and Ganguly remained unbeaten on 117. India won this match by 8 wickets and 63 balls to spare.
Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar Vs New Zealand at Hyderabad on 15th November 2003: India crushed the Kiwis by 145 runs. Sehwag and Sachin’s 182-run stand helped India to beat the visitors.
