Haynes-Greenidge, Ganguly-Tendulkar, Langer-Hayden – big names that had one thing in common. Batting pairs that were terrific while opening the innings for their teams in different formats.
But, as the game has changed, it has thrown up newer names alongside the old ones that have lit up cricket’s newest format.
We take a look at five extraordinary opening pairs in T20Is whose performances won’t fade away from our memories, just like the Signature range of perfumes from Axe that never fade away.
1) Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden (Australia)
If you talk about modern era’s best opening pairs, you will seldom miss the names of these two. It’s almost exceptional how Australia’s dominance in all limited overs formats has heavily depended on Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden getting them off to a flying start.
While both are left-handers and have similar approaches to batting, Hayden often used his feet against the spinners and never allowed them to settle down. Gilchrist, on the other hand, liked to attack by staying inside the crease – and one of his favourite shots included the manic cut over point.
Although the opening pair played just nine T20 internationals, the performances refuse to fade out of memory for the sheer impact that it had, and the kind of numbers that it generated. In these nine innings, the duo put on 398 runs, at an average of nearly 50. The stands include a couple of hundred-run partnerships as well.
One of those hundred run opening stands came against Sri Lanka in the inaugural edition of the World T20, where Gilchrist and Hayden chased down Sri Lanka’s meagre target of 102 in just 10 overs, bludgeoning bowlers all around the park.
2) Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
One of the main reasons why New Zealand has been able to take the world by storm in the game’s shortest format has been the performances of the team’s openers Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill.
In a period of just two years since they first started opening for their country, the pair has overtaken a bunch of others to settle at the second spot in the all-time list of most runs scored by an opening pair in T20Is.
838 runs in 17 innings at an average of 52.37, two-century stands and seven half-century stands included. Such massive numbers are reflective of the duo’s serious game changing abilities. Their best performance, however, came earlier this year, against Pakistan at Hamilton.
Batting first, Pakistan had put up a total of 168 runs, thanks to a not out effort from Umar Akmal. Williamson and Guptill nailed the chase, achieving the target in less than 18 overs. Guptill contributed 87 runs to that unbeaten 171-run stand while Williamson’s contribution was a 48-ball 72 as New Zealand won by 10 wickets!
3) Loots Bosman and Graeme Smith (South Africa)
In a game at Centurion towards the end of 2009, South Africa posted an unbelievable 241 runs against England. The Proteas went on to the win the game by a whopping 84 runs, but a large part of the victory was due to the efforts of Loots Bosman and Graeme Smith.
The openers raced their way to 170 runs in 13.1 overs before Smith got out for 88. Although Bosman survived for three more overs, he too failed to reach his century, falling six runs short.
The pair opened for South Africa in 11 T20Is apart from this game and ended as the 5th most successful opening pair – racking up 650 runs at an average of nearly 60.
4) Alex Hales and Michael Lumb (England)
England might not have won any major ICC event in recent years, barring the World T20 in 2010, they have, however, produced a stellar opening pair in the form of Alex Hales and Michael Lumb.
The two batsmen formed a strong opening combination ever since they first batted together against India in a T20I at Pune. The pair has delivered on multiple occasions and against strong opposition – 80 vs India (’12), 143* vs New Zealand (’13), 111 vs Australia (’13) and 98 vs West Indies (’14).
After a lukewarm World T20 2014, the pair was disbanded, but not before they had amassed a massive 705 runs from 18 innings at an average of 41.47.
5) Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir (India)
No list is complete without the Jai-Veeru of Indian cricket. Between 2007 and 2012, the dashing duo from Delhi opened for India in 17 T20Is, notching up nearly 550 runs at a mouth-watering average of over 50.
The most extraordinary bit about the partnership had been in the way the two understood each other’s game, complementing each other on most occasions, stealing singles when there weren’t any and keeping each other’s morale up while in the middle.
It was during the must-win encounter against England during the inaugural World T20 that the Gambhir-Sehwag partnership showed its true class. On a good batting deck, the two put on 136 runs for the first wicket setting the launchpad for the likes of Yuvraj Singh who stole the show with his six sixes as India won by 18 runs.
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