One of the most crucial aspects of winning a game in cricket is partnerships. It can be in batting as well as in bowling where two players team up brilliantly to unfurl all the strategies held by their opposition.
In any form of cricket, it plays a pivotal role and can deal an emphatic hand in impacting the upshot of the game.
We will look at five longest partnerships in ODI cricket that took the game beyond any recognition from their opponents.
1. Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle, 372 runs, Canberra, 2015
After West Indies came out to bat, they were dealt a telling blow by Panyangara as Dwayne Smith was castled clean for nought.
However, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle took over the reins of the innings after some initial overhaul and started peppering the bowlers all over the park.
Chris Gayle took charge of the hammering while Samuels played an imperative anchor to the knock. The southpaw finished at 215 from 147 as Masakadza compelled him to hole out to Chigumbura, snuffing out the partnership for 372 runs.
Samuels played an unbeaten knock of 133 from 156 deliveries smashing 11 boundaries and 3 over-boundaries, while Gayle registered 10 boundaries and 16 sixes.
Sean Williams and Chris Ervine did stitch some resistance as Zimbabwe rode in their batting to reach 289 but the effort wasn’t enough as they fell short by 83 runs in the end.
2. John Campell and Shai Hope, 365 runs, Dublin, 2019
In a lopsided encounter against Ireland, Shai Hope and John Campbell laid waste to the Irish bowling as the two Caribbean openers unleashed an unprecedented onslaught. After stitching a reckless partnership of 365 runs, it was John Campbell who was the first one to depart, scoring a staggering 179 from 137 deliveries that featured 15 fours and 6 sixes.
Shai Hope quickly followed suit, departing in the same over, smashing 170 from 152 deliveries that comprised 22 fours and 2 sixes. After the duo departed, West Indies finished their 50 overs at 381 for 3.
The Caribbean bowlers made quick work of their opponents as Ashley Nurse removed half the Irish side to bundle them out for 185.
- Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, 331 runs, Hyderabad, 1999
After New Zealand erupted into early celebrations as they were successful in removing Saurav Ganguly for cheap, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar made the visitors pay dearly.
Weathering the initial storm, Sachin shortly started dealing in boundaries with the Kiwi bowlers while Dravid was unusually aggressive against the bowlers.
The duo plundered 331 runs for the second wicket as Dravid was finally scalped by Cairns smashing 153 runs from the exact same number of deliveries.
Sachin Tendulkar played the more belligerent role as he garnered 186 from 150 deliveries, smashing 20 fours and 3 sixes. He stayed unbeaten until the end and saw India posting a mammoth total of 376 for 2.
Once again the bowlers of India had a cakewalk as all of them chipped in with valuable contributions to skittle the Kiwis out for a paltry 202.
- Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, 319 runs, Taunton, 1999
This was the World Cup bout that slingshot Saurav Ganguly to the leadership position which he was to be given shortly. Vaas rattled Ramesh’s timbre early in the game to give the first breakthrough for the Islanders. Haplessly for Sri Lanka, Saurav Ganguly was in the form of his life as he peppered the bowlers into every single corner of the park, cruising his way to a phenomenal 183.
Coupled with Dravid, this partnership plundered 319 runs amongst themselves, with Ganguly being the more dominant of the two.
Dravid sliced 145 from 129 balls before running himself out while Ganguly couldn’t resist hitting a loose delivery only to lose his wicket in the process, mounting a monumental partnership of 319 runs.
India managed to post 373 for 6, in reply to which Sri Lanka crumbled for 216, with Robin Singh razing the batting line up of the islanders.
- Imam ul Haq and Fakhar Zaman, 304 runs, Bulawayo, 2018
In a rare show of outrageous carnage, Fakhar Zaman slammed his maiden double-century in ODI cricket at the expense of an ailing Zimbabwe. With Haq and Zaman standing tall together, they stitched a partnership of 304 runs to propel Pakistan to a mammoth total of 399 for the loss of 1.
Imam played a sustaining knock of 113 runs from 122 deliveries that encompassed 8 boundaries while Fakhar smashed 24 boundaries and 5 sixes. Pakistan won the game without breaking a sweat as Shadab Khan was the pick of the lot for the Pakistani bowlers.
