Highest Partnership in Cricket World Cup History

The highly entertaining cricket extravaganza is back as ten top teams are set to compete for the ICC Men’s Cricket ODI World Cup 2023. The tournament, which will be entirely played in India, will commence on October 5.

The ODI World Cup has witnessed multiple occasions during its 12 editions where two batters have worked arduously together to put the bowling side under pressure and score runs for their side. Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly, Sanath Jayasuriya-Tillakaratne Dilshan, Ricky Ponting-Damien Martyn, and Kumar Sangakkara-Mahela Jayawerdene are a few of the finest batting partners in history, and they all lit up the renowned ODI World Cup with their masterful batting and finely tuned coordination.

Highest partnerships in ODI World Cup history

The record for smashing the highest partnership in ODI World Cup matches is currently held by the West Indies duo of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels. During a league stage match against Zimbabwe at the 2015 ODI World Cup, the pair added 372 runs for the second wicket. Gayle scored his famous 215 in that particular game.

The other 300+ partnership in the tournament was made by the Indian duo Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. During Match 21 of the 1999 ODI World Cup in Taunton, Ganguly (183) and Dravid (145) piled up a 318-run stand against Sri Lanka. It is the highest partnership by an Indian duo in the history of the ODI World Cup.

Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga have been mighty impressive as a pair as well. The Sri Lankan duo scored two 200+ run stands during the 2011 ODI World Cup. They added 282 runs and 231* runs against Zimbabwe and England, respectively.

Highest partnerships in ODI World Cups: From 2007 to 2023

Highest partnerships in ODI World Cup 2007

The ICC Men's ODI Cricket World Cup 2007 saw many high-scoring partnerships. During the 51-game long tournament, as many as 32 different partnerships had over 100 runs.

The highest partnership in the tournament was smashed by the Australian duo of Brad Hodge and Michael Clarke. They racked up 204 runs against the Netherlands. Their 204-run stand is still the highest partnership for the fourth wicket in ODI World Cup history.

Another special partnership for Australia came between Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist. The two left-handers made an opening stand of 172 runs in the finals against Sri Lanka in Bridgetown.

For India, Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly set off the fireworks when they added 204 runs for the second wicket against Bermuda.

Highest partnerships in ODI World Cup 2011

The 2011 ODI World Cup culminated after MS Dhoni smashed his iconic six to finish off the summit clash.

The tournament, which was jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, began on a high-octane note when Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli shared a 203-run partnership in Match 1 of the tournament against Bangladesh in Mirpur. Sehwag went on to score 175 runs in that game.

As mentioned earlier, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga had a marvelous 2011 World Cup as they piled up the highest and the second-highest partnership of the tournament. They added 282 runs and 231* runs against Zimbabwe and England, respectively.

Highest partnerships in ODI World Cup 2015

The 2015 ODI World Cup was the edition where the world witnessed the highest partnership (for any wicket) getting scored in the history of ODI cricket, let alone in the ODI World Cups. The powerful duo of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels stitched up 372 runs for the 2nd wicket in Match No 15 against Zimbabwe in Canberra. While Samuels made 133, Gayle (215) became the first ever West Indian to score a double century in ODIs.

Zimbabwe were at the receiving end of another historic stand when David Miller and JP Duminy piled up 256* runs in their maiden game of the ODI 2015 World Cup. The two left-handers took South Africa from 83/4 to 339/4 in 29.4 overs. Their 256-run unbeaten stand is still the highest fifth-wicket partnership in ODI history.

Highest partnerships in ODI World Cup 2019

2019 was another World Cup edition where batters dominated. The tournament, held in England and Wales, saw as many as 46 different partnerships score over 100 runs. Despite this, no duo could manage to pile up a stand over 200 runs.

Australia's David Warner and Usman Khawaja made the record for the highest partnership at the 2019 ODI World Cup when the duo added 192 runs for the second wicket against Bangladesh in Nottingham.

For India, the pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul did wonders as they struck partnerships of 189 and 180 against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, respectively.

England won their maiden ODI World Cup title on a boundary count against New Zealand in the summit fixture.