Most century partnerships in ODIs

Partnerships are crucial in cricket. Especially in One Day International (ODI) cricket, building a stand becomes essential in not only stabilizing an innings but also scoring at a consistent rate, an important aspect in limited-overs cricket.

For 15 years, one Indian pair dominated the charts for ODI partnerships - Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. The duo has scored 8,227 runs as partners on the crease, including a whopping 26 century stands and 29 half-century stands.

Here, we look at the partnerships in ODI cricket which have scored 100 or more runs the most number of times.

Sourav Ganguly-Sachin Tendulkar (India)

26 century partnerships

The two Indian greats stitched together multiple mammoth partnerships between 1992 and 2007 before Sourav Ganguly retired from international cricket. In their 176 innings together, mostly as openers, they have scored at an average of 47.55 per game.

Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar’s 26 100+ run stands is the most ODI century partnerships by any pair till date.

Their highest partnership is worth 258 runs and it came against Kenya in a triangular series which also included South Africa. This game, played in October 2001, saw Ganguly score 111 (124) and Tendulkar score 146 (132), helping India win by 186 runs.

Tillakaratne Dilshan-Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

20 century partnerships

Like Sachin and Sourav, this iconic Sri Lankan duo also had a 15-year long reign - from 2000 to 2015 - in ODI cricket. In 108 innings together, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara have scored 5,475 runs as partners at an average of 53.67.

Among their 20 centuries, their highest partnership stand is 210* in the 2015 World Cup against Bangladesh, their last ICC tournament together. Dilshan (161* off 146) and Sangakkara (105 off 76) helped put up 332/1 for the Lankans, who defeated Bangladesh by 92 runs.

Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma (India)

18 century partnerships

For 11 years and counting, opener Rohit Sharma and No. 3 batter Virat Kohli have stitched together memorable partnerships for India. The two have batted together in 81 innings.

They have 18 century-stands together and 4,906 runs between them till now. Their highest stand of 246 runs came during a chase of West Indies’ 322/8. Sharma scored 152 (117) and Kohli 140 (107) to win the game for India by eight wickets.

Shikhar Dhawan-Rohit Sharma (India)

18 century partnerships

Rohit Sharma’s second appearance on the list, sees him paired up with fellow opener, Shikhar Dhawan. Between 2011 and 2022, the duo have shared partnerships in 114 games, scoring 5,153 runs at an average of 46.

Their best stand is 210 against Pakistan at the 2018 Asia Cup. While Sharma remained unbeaten at 111 in 119 balls, Dhawan scored 114 from 100 deliveries. This is also India’s highest first-wicket stand against Pakistan.

Adam Gilchrist-Matthew Hayden (Australia)

16 century partnerships

Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden shared the crease in 117 ODI matches between 2000 and 2008. They stitched together 16 stands of 100 or more and accounted for 5,409 runs as partners. They scored at an average of 47.44 while batting together.

Their highest stand is worth 172 runs and came in the 2007 ICC World Cup final with Gilchrist scoring 149 (104) and Hayden pitching in with 38 (55). Australia won the game by 53 runs against Sri Lanka and in turn, won the World Cup that year.