Best Partnerships in Cricket History

Post-Aravinda da Silva’s iconic career included a World Cup triumph in 1996, Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jayawardene were perhaps the two names that carried the nation’s legacy forward in the early 21st century. Not just with the bat but also with their shrew leadership, Sri Lanka cricket achieved newer heights across the three formats. One of the many monumental moments created by the two would be the 624 runs gargantuan partnership against South Africa IN 2006.

In the first Test of the home series, Sri Lanka lost the toss and was put in to field first by South Africa. The ploy didn’t quite work as expected for the Proteas side as Sri Lankan bowlers wrapped them for a paltry 169 on the first day of the Test. In response, Dale Steyn struck with a couple of early wickets before the spine of Sri Lankan batting denied them any hiccups the next couple of days. 

Yes, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakarra – the two icons of the island nation – went on to smash the fifties at the end of the opening day before irritating the opposition bowlers throughout the match’s second day. The right and left-handed duo went on to negate the pacers and spinners with authoritative strokeplay as Sangakarra raced to a 116-ball ton while Jayawardene remained unbridled at 99 at Lunch. Even a change of balls after the 80 overs mark could reignite South African hopes as their shoulders dropped when the same act was replicated on the third day of the match.

Continuing from 485/2 in 112 overs, the duo intended to convert their respective double tons into a triple century. But things didn’t quite pan out as expected for the southpaw who was dismissed for a mind-boggling 287 off 457 deliveries. However, his partner went on to smash a triple hundred before getting out on his highest-ever score of 374 off 572 deliveries. This is when Sri Lanka declared for 756/5 and their bowlers ensured the hosts were curtailed short by an innings and 153 runs with Muthiah Muralidaran’s six-fer being the highlight in the third innings.

After a loss in the opener of the three-match Test series, the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly ran out of luck during the toss at his own home of Eden Gardens in the second Test. Australia capitalised on batting first as Matthew Hayden’s 97 and Steve Waugh’s 110 steered the Kangaroos to a first-innings score of 445. In response, the Indian side could gather only 171 runs before incurring a follow-on.

Getting past the deficit of 284 runs seemed tricky when Shiv Sundar Das and Sadagoppan Ramesh’s brisk start was followed by Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket for just ten runs. With 115/3 on board, skipper Ganguly stepped up with an underrated 48 off 81 balls, adding to a valuable 117 runs partnership with VVS Laxman before Rahul Dravid arrived at the second half of the third session on the third day. The Australian contingent was quite confident of bundling the hosts and sealing the series with a game left in the bank. But the day after reflected a different story altogether. 

Laxman and Dravid went on to occupy the crease throughout the fourth day, adding invaluable runs on the board and steering the Men in Blue to 550/4 at Stumps. Dravid just touched the 150-run mark while Laxman was batting at 250. But the same didn’t happen the next day as Laxman was outsmarted by Glenn McGrath for his career-best 281 before Dravid’s runout at 180 caused a declaration of the innings at 657/7d. 

The monumental 376-run stand between Laxman and Dravid rescued India from a tricky phase to a formidable total and helped them win the match and equal the series. Chasing a target of 384 runs, the top three of Australia’s batting got off to a great start before falling prey to the spinners’ cob in the last couple of sessions, getting folded for 212 runs.

One of the epoch-making cricket partnerships in One-Day Internationals has to be the mammoth 372 runs stand between West Indies linchpins Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels. The pair orchestrated this stand against Zimbabwe in an ICC World Cup encounter in 2015. 

West Indies, who were part of Group B in the league stages of the ICC World Cup 2015, kicked off their campaign on an embarrassing note after facing a four-wicket defeat against Ireland. However, the Men in Maroon bounced back with back-to-back wins against Pakistan and Zimbabwe; the latter assignment was part of the cricket history books. 

Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, West Indies batters faced an early setback after Tinashe Panyangara got off to a great start with the ball, knocking off Dwayne Smith’s timbers on the second ball of the over. However, this was the only scalp until the final ball of the innings. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels held the fort throughout the innings. Gayle went firing all guns blazing, smashing a 147-ball 215 spread across ten fours and 16 sixes. He was well assisted by Samuels who bashed 156-ball 133* to steer West Indies to 372 runs. 

With this inning, the “Universe Boss” also became the first non-Indian to rack up an ODI double hundred, and the fourth-ever to do so after Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Rohit Sharma then. He was also the first-ever cricketer to score a double hundred in the World Cup until Glenn Maxwell showcased his madness by bludgeoning 201* against Afghanistan in the Cricket World Cup 2023. Not only did individual records stand out, but Gayle and Samuels also forged the highest partnership in ODI cricket history, surpassing the 331-run stand between Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

Gayle also bagged a couple of scalps and was adjudged the Player of the Match in the game, reducing the Chevrons to just 289 runs. Zimbabwe did lose three wickets inside the powerplay before Sean Williams’ 61-ball 76 and Craig Ervine’s 41-ball 52 steered them to 289 in 44.3 overs. However, it wasn’t enough to match Gayle and Samuels’ firepower on the day.

The 1999 Cricket World Cup was instrumental in shaping the careers of the Indian big threes- Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid. While the initial two have been one of the best opening pairs for India in white-ball cricket, Rahul Dravid has been the wall of Indian cricket and often formed important partnerships with them. One of those notable moments was a 331-run stand against New Zealand with Sachin Tendulkar in 1999.

After a 46-run loss in the first ODI in Rajkot, Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar chose to bat first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Despite losing the wicket of Sourav Ganguly early in the game, Sachin and Rahul Dravid negated the Kiwis with a record-breaking partnership. In what could have been the greatest partnership in ODI history, the Indian stalwarts forged a 331-run partnership for the second wicket with the skipper mustering 186* off 150 balls and Dravid getting dismissed for run-a-ball 153. The star-studded tag team smashed 35 fours and five sixes altogether in the innings as India posted 376/2 in 50 overs. 

In response, the Black Caps could fetch 202 runs as Adam Parore, Roger Twose, and Scott Styris could not convert their starts in a massive chase. Eventually, India won the five-match ODI series 3-2 under captain Sachin. This was also India’s second 300-plus ODI partnership after Sourav Ganguly and Dravid built a historic 318-run stand in the World Cup the same year.

Following a five-wicket victory in the first T20I of the series, Afghanistan went on to show sheer dominance in the next match at their virtual home Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Dehradun. Electing to bat first after winning the all-important toss, the innings was briefly paused after the first over due to a wet outfield. Post-resumption, it was only carnage, courtesy of the opening pair of Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani. The southpaw raced to a 25-ball fifty in quick time before accelerating in top gear under the presence of Ghani. 

The Asian nation reached the 100-run mark in the ninth over, followed by Ghani’s 31-ball fifty. Meanwhile, it took just 17 balls for Zazai to move from fifty to a hundred, notching up the milestone in just 42 balls. Subsequently, he tore apart the Irish bowlers, clobbering them all around the park. Although Ghani was dismissed for a 48-ball 73 in the 18th over, Zazai continued his flurry of runs with the blade, piling up a record-shattering 162* off just 62 balls, spread around eleven fours and 16 sixes.

Eventually, the 279-run target was too much to ask for as the European side managed to fetch just 194 runs for the loss of six wickets, losing the game by 84 runs. Notably, the 238-run opening partnership between Zazai and Ghani is the highest ever in T20 Internationals.

Undoubtedly, Royal Challengers Bengaluru is one of the most popular cricket franchises in the world. Although they are yet to win an Indian Premier League title, Bengaluru’s fanbase and love for their players are often the talking point in social media. Virat Kohli and former Bengaluru player AB de Villiers are no new recipients of this passionate love and often have repaid the faithful fans with blistering performances. One of those happened to be against the Gujarat Lions in 2016 when the pair chalked out a 229-run partnership to tear apart the opposition's bowling.

Electing to field first after the toss favored the Lions, Dhawal Kulkarni knocked down Chris Gayle in the fourth over before de Villiers abled into the crease to accompany Kohli. The pair took the attack back to the opposition right from the start, bringing up the fifty-run score in the seventh over. In the next 29 balls, the Royal Challengers unit reached a hundred before both right-handers eased to their respective half-centuries. In no time, Kohli and de Villiers converted their start to magnificent centuries, stringing a 55-ball 109 and 52-ball 129* respectively. 

The target of 248 in those times was not an easy total to chase, and rightly so, the RCB bowlers bowled brilliantly to fold the Brendon McCullum-led unit for 104. Chris Jordan bagged a four-for and Yuzvendra Chahal scalped a three-fer but it was the Kohli and de Villiers’ 229 runs partnership that stole the show.