The history of Indian cricket is very rich in terms of success. India is always blessed with some of the greatest batsmen of all time. Even in the current generation, India has some of the best batters in the modern era. That is why India has won two ODI Cricket World Cup in 1983 and 2011 and also won the Champions Trophy twice in 2002 and 2013.
And when it comes to the ODI World Cup, India is always the superior team. Some greats of the game like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni have represented India successfully in the World Cup.
So, in this article, we will discuss the list of highest partnerships for India for any wicket in the ODI World Cup.
3. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar (237*) against Kenya in 1999
The third highest partnership for India and for any team came in the 1999 ODI World Cup. It was the 15th match of the tournament between India and Kenya at Bristol. After winning the toss, Kenya chose to bowl first. The Indian openers got the start but couldn’t carry on. But after both openers got out, Sachin Tendulkar joined Rahul Dravid at the crease and things totally changed from there on.
Both batters just toyed with the bowlers and scored runs at will. Both added a massive unbeaten partnership of 237* runs and remained unbeaten with their respective centuries. Sachin scored 140* off 101 and Dravid scored 104* off 109. India posted a big total of 329/2. Chasing the target, Kenya could only manage 235/7 and lost the match by 94 runs.
2. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (244) against Namibia in 2003 ODI event
India ended the 2003 World Cup as runners-up after losing to Australia in the final. But India played really good cricket in that tournament. The second highest partnership for India came in the 25th match against Namibia at Pietermaritzburg. After winning the toss, Namibia chose to bowl first, and that didn’t turn out to be a wise decision for them because the Indian team posted a big total of 311/2 in their 50 overs.
For India, both Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly scored centuries. Both batters added 244 runs for the second wicket. Sachin scored 152 runs and Ganguly scored 112. It was a big target to chase and Namibia got bowled out for 130 runs and lost the match by 181 runs.
1. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid (318 runs) against Sri Lanka in 1999 ODI ICC event
The highest partnership for India and the second highest ever came in the 1999 World Cup. It was the 21st match between India and Sri Lanka. This match was registered in the record books. Batting first, India lost their opener early, but after that it was just astonishing. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid put on a mammoth partnership of 318 runs for the second wicket to post a huge total of 376/6 runs in 50 overs.
Both batters made their respective centuries. Ganguly scored his career best score of 183 off 158 balls. Dravid also made 145 off 129 balls. Sri Lanka couldn’t carry on at the required run rate and got bowled out for 216 runs. India won that match by 157 runs.
List of India Highest Partnership in ODI World Cup
| Players | Runs | Wicket | Against | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid | 318 | 2nd | Sri Lanka | 1999 |
| Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly | 244 | 3rd | Namibia | 2003 |
| Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar | 237* | 2nd | Kenya | 1999 |
| Virender Shwag and Virat Kohli | 203 | 3rd | Bangladesh | 2011 |
| Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag | 202 | 2nd | Bermuda | 2007 |
| Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni | 196* | 5th | Zimbabwe | 2015 |
| KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma | 189 | 1st | Sri Lanka | 2019 |
| KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma | 180 | 1st | Bangladesh | 2019 |
| Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin | 175 | 3rd | Sri Lanka | 1996 |
| Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan | 174 | 1st | Ireland | 2016 |