Ranking The 5 Best Opening Pairs of T20 World Cup 2021

The T20 World Cup 2021 is done and dusted and the cricket fans saw a new champion. The Australian Cricket Team won their first-ever ICC T20 World Cup title in the history of the tournament. Aaron Finch and Co. registered a clinical 8-wicket win over New Zealand in the summit clash to win the title. Australian opener, David Warner was in spectacular form throughout the tournament, while his partner Aaron Finch also played notable knocks.

There is no denying the fact that the openers play a pivotal role in a team’s success, especially in an ICC format. Openers set the foundation at the top by giving a solid start in the first six overs. Things become a lot easier for the batsmen in the middle-order if openers lay a solid foundation in the power play overs. This is what we have seen in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2021 as well.

Teams tend to win the game if their openers get them to a good start. In this article, we take a look at the best opening Pairs of the T20 World Cup 2021

Ranking The 5 Best Opening Pairs of T20 World Cup 2021

5. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul

Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul got out cheaply in the first game against Pakistan. The next game saw Ishan Kishan pairing up with KL Rahul as openers. Both failed to make an impact and got out on low scores. India lost both the games.

However, the following games resulted in wins, thanks to stellar opening partnerships between Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. The duo shared a 140-run stand against Afghanistan, followed by a 70-run stand against Scotland and an 86-run stand against Namibia.

Had they given those kinds of starts in the first two games, India could have qualified for the semi-finals. Rohit and KL’s opening stand sits fifth in our list of best opening pairs of T20 World Cup 2021.

4. Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell

   

Both Martin Guptill and Daryl Mitchell fared quite well with the bat in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Both scored 208 runs each in the tournament. Daryl Mitchell, though, scored runs at a healthy strike rate of 140. The duo gave decent starts at the top but didn’t stitch long partnerships.

The good thing, however, was that there weren’t many occasions when both of them got out cheaply. Nevertheless, they ensured the wicket don’t fall in the very first over or second over and thereby got the team on the backfoot.

3. David Warner and Aaron Finch

Both David Warner and Aaron Finch fared pretty well in the tournament. Warner was the standout batsman for them and finished the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer. Skipper, Aaron Finch too played a few notable knocks and was Australia’s third-highest run-scorer.

The duo built two solid opening partnerships in the tournament. Aaron Finch and David Warner shared a 58-run stand for the opening wicket against Bangladesh and also stitched a 70-run partnership against Sri Lanka. Australia won both the games by big margins.

2. Jos Buttler and Jason Roy

England performed exceedingly well in the Super 12 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. They won four consecutive matches and finished the super 12 stage at the number two position in Group 1. One of the biggest reasons behind their successful campaign was the opening pair of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy. The duo made a significant contribution to England’s successful campaign.

Jos Buttler was England’s highest run-scorer. Buttler and Roy shared a solid 39-run partnership against Bangladesh, a 66-run partnership against Australia, and a 58-run partnership against South Africa in the tournament. Unfortunately, Roy suffered a hamstring injury during the business end of the tournament due to which he couldn’t participate in the semi-final match of the tournament.

1. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam

Unarguably, the opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam was the best pair in ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Both made significant contributions with the bat in the tournament. Babar Azam scored 303 runs in 6 matches at an average of 60.60, while Mohammad Rizwan amassed 281 runs in 7 innings at an average of 70.25.

The duo stitched brilliant partnerships at the top of the order and made it easier for the other batsmen to score runs. They shared a 152-run stand in the very first match to win the game against India.

They put on another hundred-run partnership against Namibia and a 71-run partnership against Australia. Babar Azam finished the tournament as the highest run-scorer, while M Rizwan sits at third in the list.