Top 5 cricket teams with the best opening pairs in limited overs cricket history

Cricketing sides which have dominated international cricket have had different recipes for success. While some teams had the firepower in their batting, others have been blessed with quality in their bowling arsenal.

However, one element which has been common to their success has been the stability in the opening pair. In Test or in one day, a stable opening pair has given the teams the cutting edge in winning matches.

History suggests the lethal opening combination has given teams the requisite firepower up the order to set up mammoth totals or chase down daunting targets.

So let us go down in memory lane and have a look at the teams which have been blessed with dependable opening pairs in limited overs cricket.

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#1 India

India’s success in the limited overs format has been largely attributed to a stable opening combination all through its cricketing history. The Indians have been lucky to have dependable openers who formed the nucleus of their batting heavy line-ups.

In the 80s, the ‘Little Master’ Sunil Gavaskar held the fort at top of the order with his well-organised technique and dogged defence.

Gavaskar had good company in the form of Chetan Chauhan and Yashpal Sharma who were decent openers in their own merit.

Once Gavaskar retired from international cricket, the unorthodox Kris Srikanth and the technically sound Ravi Shastri formed a handy opening pair with contrasting batting styles.

The 90s was all about the ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar and his exploits with the bat as an attacking opener.

After being partnered by the likes of Navjot Singh Sidhu, Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Jadeja, Tendulkar eventually got his most dependable partner in the ‘Prince of Calcutta’, Saurav Ganguly.

The Tendulkar-Ganguly duo became the most prolific opening pair in the history of ODI cricket. While Tendulkar was tormenting the best bowling attacks with utter disdain, Ganguly was a treat to watch with his elegant off-side play and hitting spinners for big sixes. The pair which put on whopping 6000 plus ODI runs with 21-century partnerships became the backbone of the Indian batting order.

At the turn of the millennium, India’s most destructive Virender Sehwag cemented his place at the top of the order courtesy his swashbuckling style of play.

Sehwag relied heavily on his hand-eye coordination and tonked the best of attacks to all parts of the park.

Sehwag and his Delhi mate Gautam Gambhir formed a lethal opening pair, helping the Indian team build a strong foundation and pile up mammoth totals.

After the Viru-Gauti pair bid adieu to international cricket, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma become India’s most dependable opening pair in white ball cricket.

The left-right combination has strung numerous opening stands for India in the past, laying a solid foundation for the likes of Virat Kohli and thereby winning many matches for the 'Men in Blue'.

While the ‘Hitman’ Sharma is considered to be one of the most stylish openers with all the shots in his armory, Dhawan packs a punch with his shot-making in the power plays.

#2 Australia

Hayden and Gilchrist are arguably one of the most destructive opening pairs in ODI

In the early 90s, the Australians had Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh who became their settled opening pair.

While Taylor was more of the gritty and determined bloke, Waugh was an elegant stroke maker with a touch of class and panache in his strokeplay.

Waugh’s flamboyant batting looked effortless as he was blessed with sublime timing and nimble footwork.

Towards the end of the 90s, the hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist joined Waugh at the top of the innings.

Gilchrist was a tormentor with his belligerent hitting and played the perfect foil to his more elegant partner. 'Gilli' produced some whirlwind cameos which provided the Aussies with the much-required impetus up front.

Australia’s long period of dominance in One Day cricket has been courtesy of a spree of solid opening pairs.

Australia who had a bit of a downfall in the 80s owing to the mass exodus of some stalwarts were given a second lease of life with the dependable opening pair of Geoff Marsh and David Boon.

The Marsh-Boon pair were consistent run-getters for the Aussies in the 80s and helped their cause in getting back to the top of ODI cricket as a formidable side.

In Australian cricket's Golden Era, Gilchrist was partnered by the big and bury Matthew Hayden who was a bludgeoner of the red cherry.

'Haydos' with his imposing figure who could decimate the best of bowling attacks with his brutal assault.

Gilli and Haydos formed arguably one of the most destructive opening pairs in ODIs and became an integral part of the champion Australian side which dominated cricket all through the first decade of the 2000s.

After Gilchrist and Hayden bid adieu to international cricket, the Aussies continued to boast of a string of specialist openers in the form of David Warner, Aaron Finch and Shane Watson who provided the much-required stability up the order.

#3 South Africa

In recent times De Kock has partnered Amla up top

Since their readmission to international cricket in the early 90s, the Proteas were served well by the stable opening pair of Kepler Wessels and Andrew Hudson.

Once Wessels retired from the game, Gary Kirsten formed a solid partnership with Andrew Hudson. Kirsten became the lynchpin of the South African team, accumulating runs consistently at the top of the order.

Post Hudson's retirement, Kirsten got the perfect partner in the enigmatic Herschelle Gibbs. The Proteas who have been known for their seam bowling and exuberant fielding have had their share of world-class openers who gave their side the opening salvo in limited overs cricket.

Gibbs was a gifted stroke-maker who was beautiful to watch when on song. While Gibbs played the accelerators role to perfection, Kirsten was the workhorse playing the sheet anchor’s role.

Post the Kirsten-Gibbs era, the Green and Gold brigade had Graeme Smith forming a potent opening partnership with both Hashim Amla and Gibbs.

While Smith was a tenacious character who scored plethora of runs, Amla hailed as a wristy stroke maker went about his run scoring in a rather subdued manner.

In recent years, Amla has been partnered by the aggressive left-handed batsman Quinton De Kock. While De Kock likes to take on the bowlers in the power plays and get the South Africans to some fliers, Amla plays second fiddle as a sheet anchor.

#4 Sri Lanka

Jayasuriya formed a potent opening partnership with Atapattu

The meteoric rise of Sri Lanka in limited overs cricket has been largely achieved through the free-flowing style of batting adopted by their openers all through the 90s.

Sri Lanka created a distinct style of their own after skipper Arjuna Ranatunga introduced the concept of pinch-hitting in the mid-90s.

Sanath Jayasuriya became one of the most fearsome openers in ODIs with his power-packed hitting. Jayasuriya mauled bowling attacks with his diminutive opening partner Romesh Kaluwitharana.

Both Jayasuriya and ‘Little Kalu’ got the Sri Lankans to some breezy starts with their destructive strokeplay and destroyed the morale of the opposition. In the mid-90s, the combo became the most feared opening pair in limited overs cricket.

In the first half of the next decade, Jayasuriya formed a potent opening pair with the technically sound Marvan Atapattu. While Jayasuriya was the aggressor, Atapattu steadied the innings with his conventional style of batting.

With the turn of the century, Tillakaratne Dilshan came onto the scene and threaded the same path as his counterparts.

Dilshan was an attacking opener who tore apart attacks with his wide array of shots. Dilshan formed handy opening partnerships with seasoned openers like Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene which served Lankan cricket well in the last two decades.

#5 West Indies

Gordan Greenidge and Desmond Haynes were cut above the rest

The Mighty Windies of the 70s and 80s who ruled the roost in international cricket had one of the most formidable opening pairs in Gordan Greenidge and Desmond Haynes.

The combination were a cut above the rest piling up runs at will against quality bowling attacks. The pair showed their run-scoring pedigree by stitching 15-century partnerships, giving the Windies the decisive edge in building platforms for their explosive middle order to build upon.

In the early 90s, the West Indies had the enigmatic Brian Lara forming a stable opening pair with Haynes which worked wonders for them in the 1992 World Cup. The 90s saw a couple of seasoned West Indian openers in Sherwin Campbell, Phil Simmons, Philo Wallace, Daren Ganga and Stuart Williams make sporadic appearances but none could cement their position as regular openers.

Towards the turn of the millennium, Chris Gayle formed a handy opening combination with Wavell Hinds, providing the much-required stability for West Indies at the top of the innings. The powerfully built Gayle has been an explosive opener for the Windies for the last two decades but frequent tiffs with the Board has kept the Jamaican powerhouse in and out of the Maroon Brigade.

In recent times, diminutive opener Evin Lewis has caught the eyes of many with his belligerent hitting and promises to be West Indies' front-line opener for the future.

Before we end, a look at some of the other openers who provided their teams with the much-required opening salvo up the order.

Pakistan – Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail, Rameez Raja, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohsin Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Naser Jhamshed

New Zealand - Nathan Astle, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Stephen Fleming,Jesse Ryder, John Wright, Lou Vincent

England - Marcus Trescothick, Nick Knight, Alec Stewart, Alastair Cook, Mike Artheton, Graham Gooch, Robin Smith, Alex Hales, Ian Bell, Jason Roy

Zimbabwe – Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell

Bangladesh – Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar

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