ODI Partnerships: an alternate look

Our expert gives you a look at the top ODI batting partnerships and their percentage of the team score.

Recently, Arvind Iyengar looked at the huge ODI partnerships. In my last article, I had looked at the share of test innings out of the team score. In a way, this article has combined the two aspects. I have looked at the ODI partnerships from the point of view of the share of the final team score. Each of these subtly varying analyses provides different insights into the game.

I have only placed one criterion for selection. The match score has to be 200 or more. This is done so as to ensure that a final score of 50 for no loss or a score of 100 for 1 with a 90-run partnership are not included.

I have shown the first 20 entries in the following table.

Logically, the first two entries with a 100% share of the final score are the first wicket partnerships. Both partnerships are around the 200-mark. Incidentally, there is a higher unbeaten partnership of 221 for the first wicket. By West Indies against West Indies during the 1992 World Cup. However, Lara retired hurt and this partnership had three batsmen participating in it (Haynes, Lara and Richardson).
   
In the highest partnership ever of 331, Tendulkar and Dravid cored 88.0% of the Indian score. The other 300+ partnership, 318 by Ganguly and Dravid, comprised of 85.3% of the team score. Arvind’s top partnership based on batting momentum, Tharanga and Jayasuriya’s opening partnership of 286 accounted for 88.3% of the Sri Lankan score.

It can be seen that 8 out of the 20 are for the first wicket, 7 are for the second wicket and 4 are for the third wicket. The odd one out is the 275-run partnership for the fourth wicket by Azharuddin and Jadeja out of an Indian score of 301.
India owns 6 of these partnerships, Australia, 5 and West Indies, 3.

West Indies have conceded 4 of these partnerships. Zimbabwe, India and New Zealand have conceded 3 partnerships each.

Surprisingly, Dravid and Watson have participated in 3 of these partnerships. Quite a few have 2 partnerships each.