Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan Overtakes Adam Gilchrist-Matthew Hayden With 17th ODI Century Opening Stand To Reach The Second Position

The opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan has been phenomenal for India ever since the right-hander was promoted to open by former captain MS Dhoni in the 2013 Champions Trophy.

On Sunday, during the third ODI against England, with a 103-run partnership, their 17th in ODIs, the pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan surpassed that of former Australians Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, who had registered 16-century opening partnerships. The top position is occupied by the legendary Indian duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly with 21-century opening partnerships.

England’s dynamic opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy are on the fifth position in this particular list with 13-century stands.

Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan have 4th most runs as an opening pair

The right-left combination of Sharma-Dhawan has done wonders for Team India in the past years as they set up a big platform for others to cash in on. The duo has added 4978 at an average of 45.66 in 110 innings and sits on the 4th position for most runs as an opening pair.

Tendulkar-Ganguly is the most successful opening partners in ODIs with 6609 runs at 49.32 in 136 innings. Gilchrist-Hayden follow them with 5372 runs ahead of 5150 runs for Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge. Bairstow and Roy averages 61.60 – better than all opening pair above them.

Speaking of the third and the series-decider ODI between India and England in Pune, after the openers laid down a solid foundation, India lost both of them followed by Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.

But Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya staged a partnership before both of them were dismissed in succession. However, despite the top-order wickets, Pant and Pandya continued to bat with aggressively and have ensured the hosts go past 300. At the time of writing, India were 283/6 at the 40th over mark as all-rounders Krunal Pandya and Shardul Thakur look to take India to a big total.

Also Read: If Rishabh Pant Continues To Play In The Same Manner, He Will Leave MS Dhoni And Adam Gilchrist Behind – Inzamam-ul-Haq