10 most successful opening pairs for India in ODIs

Indian cricket team has never been short of match winning batsmen at the top of the order. From Sunil Gavaskar to Virender Sehwag, the openers have, number of times, managed to win matches single handedly for the Indian National Team. One important aspect of opening the innings is that you have to build a strong partnership with the batsmen on the other end, building a strong foundation for the team on which the middle order can capitalize. Hence, even though having one impressive opening batsman is good for the team, having a pair of impressive opening batsmen is a blessing.

Indian Cricket Team has had a plethora of successful opening batsmen in the shorter format of game. But they have been lucky enough to have several successful opening pairs throughout over 40-year history of ODI cricket who have been instrumental in winning a large number of matches for the team, including two World Cups and two Champions Trophies. With the current opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan keeping that legacy intact with their game, we take a look at 10 most successful opening pairs in India's ODI history.

#10 Manoj Prabhakar-Sachin Tendulkar

Although not as prolific and successful as Kapil Dev, Manoj Prabhakar was unarguably India's premier all-rounder during the 1990s. He is one of the few players in the history of cricket that have opened the batting as well as bowling for an international team, and made a very strong impact with the bat at the top of the order. His pairing along with a young Sachin Tendulkar, who was making his mark at the top of the order in 1994, was a bright spot in the Indian Cricket Team.

The Marathi pair opened the innings together only 19 times over the period of 2 years between 1994 and 1996. With an impressive average of 46.38, the duo pilled up 835 runs, which included 2 century stands and 4 other 50+ stands and a highest opening stand of 161 runs against Sri Lanka in 1995.

#9. Ravi Shastri-Kris Srikkanth

One of the earliest opening pairs that India had, the duo of Srikkanth and Shastri was the epitome of destructive and aggressive style of batting during the late 1980's. At the time when batting at a strike rate of 60 was considered to be impressive in ODI cricket, both Shastri and Srikkanth constantly scored runs at a strike rate of over 70 and this was instrumental in a number of victories for the Indian team.

Starting the innings for India's Limited Overs side 32 times over the course of 9 years, the opening duo scored 1135 runs at an average of 35.46, which includes a then highest opening partnership of 188 runs. Apart from that record partnership, the duo shared 2 century plus stands along with 5 other 50+ stands.

#8. Shikhar Dhawan-Ajinkya Rahane

The trio of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan have been a pillar at the top of the order for the Indian ODI team for over 6 years now, and, no matter which pair among the trio plays at the top, they have always scored runs for the team. Even though Rahane is now batting at number 4 for India, his partnership with Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order has been nothing short of spectacular and the two have won many a number of matches for the team.

Opening the batting for India in 18 innings, the Rahane-Dhawan pair has pilled up 1153 runs at an astounding average of 64.05, the highest among any international pair with over 1000 runs. The duo have 5 century plus stands, which includes a memorable 231 runs stand against Sri Lanka, as well as 3 other 50+ stands. These two have always managed to give India impressive starts in the limited opportunities given to them.

#7. Ajay Jadeja-Sachin Tendulkar

The only reason why the Prabhakar-Tendulkar pairing was not India's permanent opening pair in mid 90s was because there was another pair that comprised of India's best ODI batsmen during the 1990's - Ajay Jadeja and Sachin Tendulkar. Even though Jadeja is famous for his exploits as the finisher of the ODI team, his pairing with Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the order was nothing short of exceptional and was the brightest spot in the Indian batting line up during that period.

Opening the batting together for India in 22 innings between 1994 and 1996, the two ODI specialists accumulated 1315 at an average that is just shy of 60. With a highest opening stand of 176 against West Indies in 1994, the pair have 5 century plus partnerships and 7 other 50+ stands between them.

#6. Sourav Ganguly-Virender Sehwag

The first decade of the 21st century saw India develop into arguably the strongest ODI squad in the world, and the main reason for this was the rock solid opening batsmen. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag had considerable success at the top of the order individually as well as a pair. For a better part of 6 years between 2001 and 2007, 'Dada' and 'Viru' formed a colossal opening pair for the Indian Cricket Team which was a perfect blend of aggressive and steady batting style.

Ganguly and Sehwag opened the batting for India in the Limited Overs format in 43 innings and scored 1625 runs at a respectable average of 39.63. The duo crossed the 100 runs mark in an innings 5 times, which includes their highest partnership of 196 runs, and the 50 runs mark in 6 other occasions.

#5. Sunil Gavaskar-Kris Srikkanth

India's first successful opening pair in the limited overs format, Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth were India's first choice openers for almost 6 years between 1981 and 1987. A perfect blend of Gavaskar's defensive but rock solid batting and Srikkanth's aggressive stroke play, this duo, which was equally successful in the longest format, were influential in a number of victories for the Indian team, including their maiden World Cup victory in 1983.

Playing at the top of the order in 55 innings, the Gavaskar-Srikkanth pair scored 1680 runs at an average of 30.80, which was a respectable average at the time. The duo shared 2 century plus partnerships, including their best stand of 136 runs, and 11 other 50+ stands in limited overs cricket.

#4. Gautam Gambhir-Virender Sehwag

It's rather astonishing that, even though there was gap of 10 years between their first and last innings together as openers of India, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag opened the innings for India in ODIs only 38 times. The fact that Sachin Tendulkar was India's first choice opener till 2012 meant that these two only got opportunity to open when Tendulkar was not available. Yet, this partnership, which was highly successful in Test Cricket, managed to produce many memorable performance and victories for India.

In 38 ODI innings, this all-Delhi duo scored 1870 runs at a stunning average of 50.54. The two shared 5 century plus stands and 7 other 50+ plus partnerships in ODI cricket, with a partnership of 201 against New Zealand being their best partnership as openers.

#3. Shikhar Dhawan-Rohit Sharma

India's current opening pair in both limited-overs format, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have now been India's opening batsmen for more than 4 years. The transition to the top of the order did wonders for Rohit Sharma in ODI cricket, who has now transitioned himself into one of ODIs best batsman. His partnership with Dhawan, which began at the 2013 Champions Trophy, has been the crown jewel for the Indian cricket team as the two have won plenty of matches for the team with their masterclass.

Since they first opened the innings in 2013, Sharma and Dhawan have done the same 75 times till date. In those 75 innings, they have compiled 3323 runs at a fabulous average of 44.90. With 12 century plus stands and 9 other 50+ partnerships to their name, including thier best stand of 178, the Sharma-Dhawan duo is arguably the best opening pair in the world right now.

#2. Virender Sehwag-Sachin Tendulkar

A pairing that can be at best regarded as the pairing of Master and Pupil, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar formed the most destructive opening partnership in the history of Indian Cricket. A plain sight of Sehwag and Tendulkar walking into the ground was enough to send chills down the spine of the bowlers. While Sehwag was famous for his explosive batting from the word go, Tendulkar complimented his style of batting with his own steady and aggressive stroke play. This pairing was the main reason of India's victorious and runner up campaigns in 2003 and 2011 World Cup.

Tendulkar and Sehwag came out to open the innings for India 93 times and scored 3919 runs over the course of almost 10 years at a healthy average of 42.13. Along with a best stand of 186 runs, these two legends have shared 12 century plus stands and 18 other 50+ plus stands in ODIs.

#1. Sourav Ganguly-Sachin Tendulkar

Clearly there wasn't any doubt on which pair was going to top this list. For almost 10 years, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly formed a rock solid opening partnership for the Indian cricket team that was also the backbone of the Indian batting order. Not only is this pairing India's most successful opening pair, but also the most successful pairing in the history of ODI cricket. Be it building strong foundation for the team or hitting from the very first ball of the match, these two seasoned campaigners did everything for the Indian squad.

Dada and The Master opened the innings for India on 136 ocassion over the course of 11 years and compiled a massive total of 6609 runs at an astounding average of 49.32. Their stand of 258 runs against Kenya was the best opening partnership in the world for almost 13 years. The legends of ODI cricket, courtesy of their impressive individual records, their 21 century plus stands and 23 other 50+ stands in ODI has cemented their place as one of the greatest batting pairs in history of ODI cricket.