5 batsmen who became famous thanks to their opening partners

4. Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka)

Tharanga’s career has not gone as per expectations

Opening Partner: Tillakaratne Dilshan

Upul Tharanga may have scored more than 5000 runs in ODI cricket and hit as many as 13 centuries but his career so far has not reached the heights that it should have. He is still known best for his successful opening combination with his iconic countryman, Tillakaratne Dilshan, which brought about quite a lot of success for Sri Lanka. In fact, they are among the top 10 opening pairs in ODI cricket in terms of runs scored.

Between the years 2009 and 2014, Dilshan and Tharanga scored 3159 runs as partners and averaged more than 45 runs per innings. Their opening partnership of 282 runs against Zimbabwe in the 2011 World Cup is the second highest ever in ODIs. However, there is a huge gap between Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan in terms of their stature as individual batsmen, which the former can reduce only if he gets enough chances to capitalize upon.