India's five best openers till date

#4 Sourav Ganguly

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly

The stylish southpaw from Bengal was hugely successful at the top of the order in limited overs cricket until Virender Sehwag came along. His partnership with Tendulkar at the top of the order was a love story that Bollywood would have been proud of.

The duo scored 6609 runs together in 136 innings which included 21 century and 23 half-century partnerships, the best till date. They also have a partnership average of 49.32, the second-best for any pair with at least 2000 runs.

Ganguly had a hugely successful career as an opening batsman in ODIs and as a captain, having played his share of incredible innings for India at the top of the order. His 183 against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup is one such unforgettable knock.

Ganguly scored 11,363 runs at an average of 41.02 with 22 hundreds and 72 half-centuries. Out of this, as an opener, he scored 5671 ODI runs including 10 centuries and 37 half centuries.