ODI World Cup: Pakistan is definitely one of the best teams in the white-ball format in the world. Many legends of the game have represented Pakistan on the grand stage of the ODI World Cup. The Men in Green won their maiden World Cup in 1992 under the captaincy of Imran Khan. However, they ended up as runners-up in the 1999 World Cup, where they lost the final against Australia.
On the other hand, they have also played four semi-finals in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 2011. They have also reached the quarterfinals twice, in 1996 and 2015. With so many good performances, they have had some of the greatest batsmen of all time.
List of Highest Partnership in ODI World Cup by Pakistan
| Players | Runs | Wicket | Against | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saeed Anwar and Wajahatullah Wasti | 194 | 1st | New Zealand | 1999 |
| Ramiz Raja and Saleem Malik | 167 | 2nd | England | 1987 |
| Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas | 166 | 2nd | West Indies | 1979 |
| Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail | 160 | 2nd | UAE | 2015 |
| Sadiq Mohammad, Majid Khan | 159 | 1st | Sri Lanka | 1975 |
| Zaheer Abbas, Imran Khan | 147* | 4th | New Zealand | 1983 |
| Amir Sohail, Javed Miandad | 145 | 3rd | Zimbabwe | 1992 |
| Imran Khan, Shahid Mahboob | 144 | 6th | Sri Lanka | 1983 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal | 118 | 5th | Kenya | 2011 |
| Azhar Mahmood, Wasim Akram | 74 | 7th | West Indies | 1999 |
So in this article, we will discuss the highest partnership for Pakistan in World Cup history.
3. Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas (166 runs) against West Indies in the 1979 World Cup
This was the second semifinal of the 1979 World Cup between West Indies and Pakistan at the Oval. Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first. The top-order for West Indies scored bulk of the runs and managed 293/6 in 60 overs. Gordon Greenidge (73), Desmond Haynes (65), and Viv Richards (42) were the top-scorers. For Pakistan, Asif Iqbal picked up four wickets.
In the second innings, the Men in Green lost the first wicket early, but after that, Majid Khan (81) and Zaheer Abbas (93) added 166 runs for the second wicket to bring their team on track. But once that partnership was broken, Pakistan felt like a pack of cards and got bowled out for 250 runs. The West Indies won that match by 43 runs and advanced to the finals, where they won the World Cup.
2. Ramiz Raja and Saleem Malik (167 runs) against England in 1987 ICC Event
This was the 13th match of the 1987 Reliance World Cup between Pakistan and England. Batting first, the English team could only manage 244/9 in their 50 overs. From Pakistan, Imran Khan picked up four wickets and Abdul Qadir took three wickets. Chasing the target of 245, Pakistan had a decent start and the openers added 61 runs.
But Mansoor Akhtar got out after scoring 29 runs, which brought Saleem Malik to the crease. He, along with Ramiz Raza, then took the charge and added 167 runs for the second wicket to help their team chase down the target. Ramiz scored a brilliant century of 113 and Malik scored 88 runs. Pakistan won that match by seven wickets.
1. Saeed Anwar and Wajahatullah Wasti (194 runs) against New Zealand in 1999 World Cup
It was the first semifinal of the 1999 World Cup between Pakistan and New Zealand in Manchester. After winning the toss, the Kiwis chose to bat first. New Zealand scored 241/7 in their 50 overs. Shoaib Akhtar picked up three wickets, while Abdul Razzaq and Wasim Akram picked up two wickets each. Coming out to chase, the Pakistani openers just didn’t let the Kiwis come into the game.
Both openers added 194 runs for the opening wicket. Saeed Anwar scored an unbeaten century of 113 runs off 148 balls, including nine fours. Wajahatullah Wasti scored 84 runs. Pakistan chased down the target in 47.3 runs and won the match by nine wickets. This is still the highest partnership for Pakistan for any wicket in the ODI World Cup.