Bangladesh played its first-ever ODI game against Pakistan on 31 March 1986. From that moment to now, Bangladesh has certainly come a long way. Starting the game as an associate nation to becoming a full test-playing nation is a big jump for them. However, they might not be strong as other teams but they have a number of quality players in their team.
And this article will feature a few good records for this team and here we will cover the list of highest opening partnerships for Bangladesh in 50-over cricket. Notably, Bangladesh’s best opening stand is better than Australia, England, and even South Africa. So let’s check.
Highest Opening Partnership in ODI by Bangladesh
| Pair | Runs | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamim Iqbal, Litton Das | 292 | Zimbabwe | Sylhet | 6 Mar 2020 |
| Shahriar Hossain, Mehrab Hossain | 170 | Zimbabwe | Dhaka | 25 Mar 1999 |
| Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque | 158 | Zimbabwe | Chattogram | 23 Nov 2014 |
| Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar | 154 | South Africa | Chattogram | 15 Jul 2015 |
| Anamul Haque, Imrul Kayes | 150 | Pakistan | Mirpur | 4 Mar 2014 |
| Litton Das, Imrul Kayes | 148 | Zimbabwe | Chattogram | 24 Oct 2018 |
| Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes | 147 | Zimbabwe | Mirpur | 11 Nov 2015 |
| Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar | 145 | Pakistan | Mirpur | 22 Apr 2015 |
| Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar | 144 | West Indies | Dublin | 7 May 2019 |
| Athar Ali Khan, Mohammad Rafique | 137 | Kenya | Hyderabad (Deccan) | 17 May 1998 |
3. Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque (158) vs Zimbabwe in 2014
Bangladesh registered its third highest opening stand in November 2014 against Zimbabwe. It came in the second game of the five-match series in Chattogram. Bangladesh won the toss and decided to bat first. They got off to a brilliant start with both openers adding 158 runs for the first wicket in 33 overs. Although, none of those two scored a century but played a good inning. Tamim Iqbal made 76 runs.
Anamul Haque scored 80 runs in that partnership. As a result, Bangladesh made a total of 251/7 in their 50 overs. It was a par score on that pitch and their bowlers proved it a match-winning score. Chasing the target, Zimbabwe struggled in the middle. Thus, the whole team got dismissed for 183 runs in 44.5 overs. Bangladesh won that game by 68 runs in the end.
2. Shahriar Hossain and Mehrab Hossain (170) vs Zimbabwe in 1999
Bangladesh’s all top three highest opening partnerships came against Zimbabwe. The second highest came way back in March 1999. They locked horns with Zimbabwe in Dhaka and won the toss to bat first. In the first inning, Bangladesh had a good opening partnership between Shahriar Hossain and Mehrab Hossain. Both openers added 170 runs for the first wicket in 35.4 overs. Shahriar got out after scoring 68 runs with six boundaries in it.
Meanwhile, Mehrab carried on and scored his ODI century. He made 101 runs including nine boundaries and two sixes. With a good opening partnership, Bangladesh reached a decent total of 257/5 in the 50 overs. But their bowlers couldn’t defend the target. Chasing the target, Zimbabwe got a good foundation from skipper Alistair Campbell, who made 97 runs. Eventually, Zimbabwe made 261/7 in 49.3 overs and won the game by three wickets. Thus, Bangladesh’s second-highest opening stand came in a losing cause.
1. Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das (292) vs Zimbabwe 2020
The pair of Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das registered the highest opening partnership for Bangladesh. In fact, it is also their highest partnership for any wicket in the history of 50-over cricket. It came in March 2020, when they locked horns against Zimbabwe in Sylhet. Batting first, Bangladesh posted a big total of 322/3 in their first inning. The match got reduced to 43-over per side due to rain. They got a massive 292-run partnership from their openers.
Tamim Iqbal scored a brilliant 128 runs off just 109 balls. However, the real carnage came from the bat of Litton Das, who scored his career-best score. He made 176 runs off just 143 balls, with 16 fours and 8 sixes in it. This was also the third highest opening stand for any team in ODIs. In response, Zimbabwe got dismissed for 218 runs and lost the game by 123 runs (D/L method).