5 Indian batting duos with the most 100+ partnerships

If you thought Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman’s return as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson for the eponymous Sherlock TV series was the comeback of the new year, in came two giants of ODI cricket to roll back the years and send the Indian fans into a frenzy.

Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, the Jai-Veeru of Indian cricket struck their biggest partnership in ODIs to rescue India from 25-3 to 256, before Yuvraj perished after completing his 150, the first in his career.

In the process, they broke into the top-5 player pairs with most hundred partnerships for India.

Here’s the list:

#5 MS Dhoni - Yuvraj Singh (10)

The Dhoni-Yuvraj association was rekindled with a masterclass at Cuttack, but the two go a long way back as a pair when it comes to rescuing India out of doldrums.

The two started off with a century stand against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2005, when Dhoni scored 56, with Yuvraj’s 53 for company. In the next five matches, they shared four 100+ partnerships, including two back to back ones against Pakistan in Lahore and Karachi.

Against Pakistan, the duo was especially lethal - as was shown by two more back to back century stands in 2007.

Before the Cuttack ODI, their last 50 plus stand was in the 2011 World Cup final, when Dhoni’s unbeaten 91 guided them to a memorable win against Sri Lanka.

#4 Sachin Tendulkar - Rahul Dravid (11)

Their batting styles were different as chalk and cheese, but two pillars of Indian cricket were a dependable pair who have to their name a number of records.

They’ve been part of some big stands in ODIs, including a massive 331 against New Zealand at Hyderabad, which was, for a long while, the highest partnership in ODIs.

Apart from that partnership in 1999, they had an unbeaten 237 run stand against Kenya at Bristol and three century-plus stands in 2007. Their last partnership, against Sri Lanka at Colombo, was one worth 95 runs.

#3 Sourav Ganguly - Rahul Dravid (11)

Having made their Test debuts together in the same match, Dravid and Ganguly’s careers overlapped until Ganguly decided to call it quits in 2008. A 117-run partnership in February 2007 against South Africa kickstarted their association in ODIs, one which included gems like 175 against Zimbabwe in 2000, and a huge 318 against Sri Lanka in Taunton in 1999, a match in which Ganguly scored 183, and Dravid 145. Their last 100+ stand was against England in Birmingham in 2007. As a pair, they averaged more than 50, with more than 4000 runs to their name.

#2 Sachin Tendulkar - Virender Sehwag (13)

The master and his prodigy were a sensation at the top of the order. While one toyed with the bowling, the other one thrashed them to submission. Tendulkar’s versatile gameplay in the second half of his career perfectly complemented Sehwag’s blistering knocks, invariably leaving the opposition short on ideas.

They had a total of 114 innings together, ones which contributed 4387 runs with 13 ODI stands and 18 fifty partnerships.

Who can forget them slaying the Pakistani bowlers in the 2003 World Cup, or the massive 182 run stand against New Zealand worth 182 for the first wicket. Their last century stand was against South Africa in the 2011 World Cup.

#1 Sourav Ganguly - Sachin Tendulkar (26)

Arguably the best opening pair in ODIs, Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar gave Indian fans countless memories throughout the 1990s and 2000s. They have 26 hundred-plus partnerships, the most by a pair in ODIs, six clear of the next best, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Their first hundred plus partnership was in October 1996, scoring 126 for the first wicket against South Africa. Big stands (159 against Pakistan, 169 against New Zealand, 175 against Australia, 252 against Sri Lanka and 197 against Zimbabwe) were constructed throughout the 90s, while the 2000s saw another set of massive partnerships: the biggest of them being the 244 against Namibia in the 2003 World Cup. Their last big partnership was against Australia in 2007, when the duo stitched together a 140-run stand.