The opening pair of any batting lineup is always the backbone of a team and it also defines the fortune of that team. A good opening stand sets the platform for middle and lower middle order batsmen to put a big score on the board.
There have been many great opening pairs in the world like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (India), Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden (Australia), Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana (Sri Lanka) etc who alone won many games for their respective teams in the ODI cricket.
India also has had many great opening pairs in ODI cricket over the years. For example Sachin Tendulkar - Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir - Virender Sehwag and now the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan who have played a great role in India's dominance over the world in ODI cricket. Here is a look at all-time best opening pairs in ODI cricket.
1. Most runs by an opening pair in ODI cricket -
| Partners | Team | Innings | Runs | Avg | Highest | 100 | 50 |
| S Tendulkar & S Ganguly | IND | 136 | 6609 | 49.32 | 258 | 21 | 23 |
| A Gilchrist & M Hayden | AUS | 114 | 5372 | 48.39 | 172 | 16 | 29 |
| G Greendige & D Haynes | WI | 102 | 5150 | 52.55 | 192* | 15 | 24 |
| H Amla & Quinton de Kock | SA | 83 | 3919 | 48.38 | 282* | 10 | 13 |
| V Sehwag & S Tendulkar | IND | 93 | 3919 | 42.13 | 182 | 12 | 18 |
| R Sharma & S Dhawan | IND | 83 | 3881 | 47.31 | 210 | 13 | 12 |
| A Gilchrist & M Waugh | AUS | 93 | 3853 | 41.43 | 206 | 8 | 20 |
| D Boon & G Marsh | AUS | 88 | 3523 | 40.03 | 212 | 7 | 25 |
| M Atapattu & S Jayasuriya | SL | 79 | 3382 | 43.92 | 237 | 8 | 19 |
| S Jayasuriya & R Kaluwitharana | SL | 105 | 3230 | 31.05 | 129 | 6 | 19 |
* Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have added 3881 runs as openers - the most sixth opening partnership runs in ODI cricket.
* Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan's 13 hundred or more runs opening partnerships are the fourth most in the world in ODI cricket.
2. Most 100 or more runs opening partnerships in ODI cricket -
Sourav Ganguly - Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 21
Adam Gilchrist - Mathew Hayden (Australia) - 16
Gordon Greenidge - Desmond Haynes (West Indies) - 15
Rohit Sharma - Shikhar Dhawan (India) - 13
Virender Sehwag - Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 12
Hashim Amla - Quinton de Kock (South Africa) - 10
Tillakaratne Dilshan - Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka) - 9
Herschelle Gibbs - Gary Kirsten (South Africa) - 9
3. Most fifty plus runs opening partnerships in ODI cricket -
Adam Gilchrist - Mathew Hayden (Australia) - 45
Sourav Ganguly - Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 44
Gordon Greenidge - Desmond Haynes (West Indies) - 38
David Boon - Geoff Marsh (Australia) - 32
Virender Sehwag - Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 30
4. Highest average opening partnership per dismissal (Min 1000 runs) -
Jonny Bairstow - Jason Roy (Eng) - 65.36
Shikhar Dhawan - Ajinkya Rahane (India) - 64.05
Ajay Jadeja - Sachin Tendulkar (India) - 59.77
Adam Gilchrist - Simon Katich (Australia) - 55.46
Gordon Greenidge - Desmond Haynes (West Indies) - 52.55
Brendon McCullum - Jesse Ryder (New Zealand) - 50.90
Gautam Gambhir - Virender Sehwag (India) - 50.54
