West Indies’ Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels hold the record for the highest partnership in Cricket World Cup history. The duo struck 372 runs for the second wicket against Zimbabwe during the 2015 Cricket World Cup match held in Canberra, Australia.
Unlike T20 cricket, batters often need to put a price on their wickets and bat for extended durations in the ODI format. Depending on the pitch as well as the quality of the bowling opposition, batters can take time to settle in and the aim is to build strong partnerships.
The Cricket World Cup has seen some remarkable partnerships between two batters who refused to give up and continued to hammer away the bowlers. A good partnership is crucial in One Day Internationals as it provides the batting unit with plenty of momentum and chips away the confidence of the opposition side.
So far, only two partnerships in ODI World Cups have been able to cross the hallowed 300-run mark.
Highest Partnerships in ODI World Cups – Top 10 list:
| Players | Country | Runs | Opposition | Wicket | World Cup edition |
| Marlon Samuels – Chris Gayle | West Indies | 372 | Zimbabwe | 2nd | 2015 |
| Sourav Ganguly – Rahul Dravid | India | 318 | Sri Lanka | 2nd | 1999 |
| Upul Tharanga – Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 282 | Zimbabwe | 1st | 2011 |
| Rachin Ravindra – Devon Conway | New Zealand | 273* | England | 2nd | 2023 |
| David Warner – Steve Smith | Australia | 260 | Afghanistan | 2nd | 2015 |
| David Warner – Mitchell Marsh | Australia | 259 | Pakistan | 1st | 2023 |
| David Miller – JP Duminy | South Africa | 256* | Zimbabwe | 5th | 2015 |
| Faf du Plessis – Hashim Amla | South Africa | 247 | Ireland | 2nd | 2015 |
| Sachin Tendulkar – Sourav Ganguly | India | 244 | Namibia | 2nd | 2003 |
| Sachin Tendulkar – Rahul Dravid | India | 237* | Kenya | 3rd | 1999 |
Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle | 372 against Zimbabwe in 2015
Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle of West Indies take the top spot on the list of highest partnerships in ODI World Cups. After Dwayne Smith was bowled out for a two-ball duck, Marlon Samuels came out to bat and joined Gayle at the crease. The duo lasted the remaining 50 overs with Gayle only losing his wicket on the final delivery of the innings.
They stitched a wonderful stand of 372 runs together during that period against Zimbabwe. Gayle completed a mammoth double ton with 215 off only 147 deliveries. His innings included 10 boundaries and a whopping 16 sixes. Meanwhile, Samuels played the role of anchor, scoring 133 off 156 with 11 boundaries and three maximums. Together, they faced 303 balls on the pitch as West Indies won the match by 73 runs after the D/L method was applied.
Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid | 318 against Sri Lanka in 1999
Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid held the record for the highest partnership in Cricket World Cup history for 16 years before it was broken by Samuels and Gayle. In fact, the Indian players were the first to breach the 300-run mark for partnerships in this competition. They achieved this feat during the 1999 Cricket World Cup against Sri Lanka in Taunton.
Batting first, Sadagoppan Ramesh lost his wicket after scoring 5(4), bringing Rahul Dravid to the crease. Both Ganguly and Dravid slammed centuries in this game. The left-hander scored 183 off 158 deliveries with the help of 17 boundaries and seven sixes. Meanwhile, ‘The Wall’ added 145 runs in 129 balls, also scoring 17 boundaries and a single six. The 318-run partnership came to an end when Dravid lost his wicket in the 46th over but India ended up scoring 373/6 and won the match by 157 runs.
Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan | 282 against Zimbabwe in 2011
Sri Lankan openers Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan ran riot against Zimbabwe at the 2011 Cricket World Cup group stage match in Pallekele, Sri Lanka. Both of them looked in incredible touch and were able to dispatch the Zimbabwean bowling to all corners of the ground. Both Tharanga and Dilshan went about their innings in equal measure.
Dilshan finished the match as the highest-scorer with 144 runs off 131 deliveries, scoring 16 boundaries and a six. He would later go on to win the man of the match after bowling a spell of 4/4 in three overs and helping Sri Lanka win by 139 runs. Meanwhile, Tharanga scored 133 off 141 and his innings included 17 fours.
Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway | 273* against England in 2023
One of the more recent additions on this list, the second wicket partnership between Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway took place during the inaugural match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Facing defending champions England, New Zealand opener Will Young was dismissed for a duck which brought young Rachin Ravindra to the crease. He partnered Devon Conway with ease and together, the duo piled plenty of runs while looking imperious.
Conway and Ravindra both went about their innings at equal pace. The left-hander was able to cross the 150 run-mark and remained not out on 152 off 121. He found the boundary on 19 occasions and even hit three sixes. Meanwhile, Ravindra finished with 123 not out off 96 deliveries, scoring 11 fours and five sixes. New Zealand went on to complete the run-chase by nine wickets and with 82 balls remaining in the innings.
David Warner and Steve Smith | 260 against Afghanistan in 2015
David Warner is one of the few names that feature on this list twice. During the 2015 Cricket World Cup match in Perth, Australia, he took part in a sensational partnership with another Aussie stalwart batter Steve Smith. Two of the best Australian batters of this generation took apart the Afghanistan bowling unit and scored runs for fun.
Batting first, Warner led the Australian charge with a mammoth innings of 178 off 133 balls. He spent 164 minutes on the crease, scoring 19 boundaries and five sixes. Smith also played an able hand and brought up 95 runs off 98 deliveries. His innings included eight boundaries and a six. A late flourish of 88 off just 39 balls from Glenn Maxwell saw Australia finish with a mammoth total of 417/6 and win the match by 275 runs!
David Warner and Mitchell Marsh | 259 against Pakistan in 2023
This is another entry from the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023 tournament. Pakistan had no answers to the questions asked by Australian openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh in this group-stage encounter between the two sides. Both of them started out with a bang and Warner played the role of aggressor and slammed 163 runs in 124 balls. He hit 14 boundaries and nine sixes and had a strike rate of 131.45.
Marsh provided adequate support to Warner and scored 121 runs off 108 deliveries. On the back of their incredible partnership, Australia were able to score 367/9 in Bengaluru. Pakistan were bundled out for 305, which resulted in a 62-run victory for the five-time world champions.
David Miller and JP Duminy | 256* against Zimbabwe in 2015
This is the most interesting partnership on this list as it is the latest stand to be on the list of the top 10 highest partnerships in ODI World Cups. David Miller and JP Duminy stitched an incredible stand for the fifth wicket against Zimbabwe at the Cricket World Cup in 2015. For the Proteas, their top four – Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, and AB De Villiers – were dismissed in quick succession, bringing David Miller and JP Duminy to the crease at a score of 83-4 in the 20th over.
Facing a tall order, both batters responded incredibly well and went about business with a safety-first approach. Towards the death overs, Miller started switching gears and was able to accelerate effortlessly. He finished with 138* off 92 deliveries and hit seven fours and nine sixes. Meanwhile, Duminy remained not out on 115 off 100 balls, taking South Africa to a comfortable score of 339/4. They eventually won the match by 62 runs.
Faf Du Plessis and Hashim Amla | 247 against Ireland in 2015
The 2015 Cricket World Cup was host to plenty of incredible partnerships. In fact, four of the 10 highest partnerships in Cricket World Cups arrived at the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand. In the same tournament, Faf Du Plessis and Hashim Amla registered a mammoth partnership that rocked Ireland’s boat. Quinton De Kock’s early dismissal brought captain Du Plessis to the crease.
Hashim Amla was the aggressor and he slammed 159 runs in 128 deliveries. Amla scored 16 boundaries and even hit four sixes. He had a strike rate of 124.21 during his innings. Meanwhile, Du Plessis scored 109 runs at run-a-ball pace. Their incredible 247-run partnership proved to be instrumental as South Africa scored 411/4 and won the match by 201 runs.
Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly | 244 against Namibia in 2003
For an entire generation of Indian cricket fans, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly together at the crease meant stability and entertainment. The legendary Indian duo shared an incredible 244-run partnership against Namibia. The ‘God of Cricket’ was at his very best in this game, and amassed 152 runs off 151 deliveries. He spent 193 minutes at the crease and scored 18 boundaries. Meanwhile, Ganguly remained unbeaten on 112 off 119 deliveries and he hit six fours and four sixes.
India finished with a strong total of 311/2 on the board and their bowlers bundled out Kenya for 130, thus securing an incredible 181-run victory in the group stage of the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid | 237* against Kenya in 1999
The final entry on the top 10 list of the highest partnerships in ODI World Cups features another set of Indian batters. Both Tendulkar and Dravid were two of the best batters of their generation and they joined forces at the expense of Kenya in the 1999 Cricket World Cup. With India batting first, Tendulkar and Dravid shared a wonderful unbeaten 237-run partnership for the third wicket.
Tendulkar remained not out on 140 off 101 deliveries and he scored 16 boundaries and three sixes. Dravid’s innings comprised of 10 boundaries and he slammed 104 off 109 deliveries. With their help, India cruised to a mammoth total of 329/2. Kenya didn’t even come close to the mark and the Men in Blue won that game by 94 runs.
FAQs
What is the highest partnership in T20I cricket?
Usman Ghani and Hazratullah Zazai’s 236-run partnership for Afghanistan against Ireland is the highest partnership in T20I cricket.
Who have registered the highest partnership in THE T20 World Cup?
Alex Hales and Jos Buttler registered an unbeaten 170-run partnership against India during the 2022 T20 World Cup, which remains the highest partnership in this competition.
What is the highest opening partnership in World Cup history?
Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan’s partnership of 282 runs for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe at the 2011 Cricket World Cup is the highest opening partnership in World Cup history.
