Partnerships play a very crucial role in the game of cricket. Be it with the bat or the ball, when two players are in tandem, or in sync, it helps to build up momentum for one side, or stem the flow for the other.
Indian cricket fans have been treated a number of different partnerships over the years. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, and later, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, and, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. These duos have helped to script some of the most iconic moments in Indian cricket.
With the evolution of the game, a partnership in the middle to lower batting order has become of paramount importance. With targets, no matter how steep, never out of reach for batting attacks of the world today, the need to bat in tandem can never be understated.
The Indian team enjoyed having MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh as a great partnership for a number of years, with the duo together even during the 2011 World Cup final. But now, with the change of guard from MS Dhoni to Virat Kohli, this pair seems to be the most promising.
We look at 5 instances in the past where Kohli and Dhoni helped India overcome their opponents –
67* – India vs Australia – 31st March 2016, Mohali – World T20
India and Australia have developed an iconic rivalry over the years with the Aussies almost rivalling the Pakistanis as India’s biggest foe. With a semi-finals berth up for grabs, the visitors had revenge on their minds and were looking to exorcise the demons of the 2011 World Cup.
The Aussies scored a formidable 160 batting first and had India reeling at 94 – 4 at the end of 14 overs when MS Dhoni, India’s captain joined Virat Kohli at the crease.
The skipper took a backseat in this partnership, letting his younger teammate do the bulk of the hitting as the duo scored 67 runs in 5.1 overs to take India home with 5 balls to spare.
Kohli ended with an unbeaten 82 on that day, arguably one of his best innings ever.
68 – Bangladesh vs India – 11th January 2010, Dhaka – Tri-nation tournament
India played Bangladesh in the penultimate game of the tri-nation tournament with not much but pride left at stake for the hosts. For the visitors, it was a matter of keeping the momentum up ahead of a tough final against in-form Sri Lanka.
India chased on this occasion as well. Shakib Al Hasan scored a fighting 85 to give the hosts a glimmer of hope after the visitors had made a number of early inroads.
As the Bangladesh attack was not as potent as it is today, India cruised home on this occasion with Dhoni joining Kohli at 133 – 3 and stitched together a nifty 68 run partnership to leave India on the brink of victory. This time around the scoring was equally shared with Dhoni contributing 32 runs.
This was another game in which Virat Kohli remained unbeaten, scoring 102 off 95 balls.
71 – India vs New Zealand – 29th October 2016, Vishakapatnam – 5-match ODI series
The Kiwis were keen on bouncing back after a disappointing Test series in India, and would bounce back superbly after a poor performance in the first ODI. The visitors improved sharply and won the ODIs at New Delhi and Ranchi to level the series at 2 games apiece.
With the series at stake, MS Dhoni decided to bat first and the hosts were off to a great start with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batting in tandem.
Dhoni decided to walk out at No. 4 this time around and spent the middle phase of the game with Kohli, playing with little risk and contributing 41 to the 71-run partnership.
Chasing 270, the Kiwis had one of their most embarrassing batting performances as they were bowled out for 79 runs, and lost the series 3 – 2.
151 – India vs New Zealand – 23rd October 2016, Mohali – 5-match ODI series
The Indians were caught off-guard when the Kiwis defended 242 in New Delhi to level the series at 1 game apiece. The teams travelled to Mohali looking to secure a crucial lead in the series.
Having asked the visitors to have a bat, the Indians were left staring at a daunting total of 286-runs to chase down as a number of the Kiwi batsmen chipped in with opener Tom Latham proving to be the top-scorer.
In what Indians fans will surely hope will become a trend, Dhoni walked out to join Virat Kohli in just the 9th over of the chase with the team at 41 – 2. The duo would stitch together a magical 151 runs with an array of glittering shots to the joy of the watching world.
Virat Kohli was unbeaten again, this time scoring 154 off just 134 deliveries.
152 – Bangladesh vs India – 7th January 2010 – Tri-nation tournament
Having lost their first game of the series, the Indians were keen to get points on the board against the hosts Bangladesh.
The task would be made much tougher after the Bangladeshis won the toss, elected to bat, and scored a mighty 296 runs on the back of Tamim Iqbal’s quickfire 42-ball 60.
On this occasion, Virat Kohli would play second fiddle to MS Dhoni as the Indian skipper scored a superb century to guide India home. The duo batted from the 9th to the 37th over and scored a crucial 152 runs.
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