The 3rd wicket partnership in ODIs more often decides the fate of the team’s batting outcome. This stand has to provide stability to the batting side when the team has lost early wickets, then stabilise the innings and prevent further collapses. If the team had a great start to their innings, then the 3rd wicket pair can further consolidate the innings, reaping on the solid foundation and accelerating the run rate in the later overs.
The main aspect of the batters playing in this position is that they need to know when to accelerate and when not and play according to the situation. They should have a strong game against spin and the ability to manoeuvre them in the middle overs.
So enough said, we will look at some of the successful stands for the 3rd wicket in ODI cricket.
Highest 3rd Wicket Partnership in ODI
| Players | Runs | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (WI) | 258 | Bangladesh | Basseterre | 25 Aug 2014 |
| Hashim Amla, Rilee Rossouw (SA) | 247 | West Indies | Centurion | 28 Jan 2015 |
| Steve Smith, George Bailey (AUS) | 242 | India | Perth | 12 Jan 2016 |
| Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (SL) | 239 | West Indies | Hambantota | 26 Feb 2020 |
| Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (SA) | 238 | Pakistan | Johannesburg | 17 Mar 2013 |
| Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 237* | Kenya | Bristol | 23 May 1999 |
| Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn (AUS) | 234* | India | Johannesburg | 23 Mar 2003 |
| Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (IND) | 233* | Pakistan | Colombo (RPS) | 10 Sep 2023 |
| Josh Lawrenson, Asa Tribe (JER) | 232 | Papua New Guinea | Windhoek | 1 Apr 2023 |
| Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed (PAK) | 230 | India | Dhaka | 18 Jan 1998 |
Key insights from the above stats
2: The number of times batters from India and South Africa feature on this list, while Johannesburg in South Africa also gets mentioned twice here.
258: The highest-ever partnership for the 3rd wicket in the history of ODI cricket came between the West Indies duo of Darren Bravo and former keeper batsman Denesh Ramdin. They did so against Bangladesh at Basseterre in 2014, and it came when the hosts were in a tough predicament. The Windies had lost both of their openers in under 5 overs for just 12 runs and needed some stability, which was provided by this duo. Ramdin scored his career-best 169, while Bravo chipped in with 124 as the Windies eventually amassed 338 runs on the board.
Also Read | Highest Partnership for Each Wicket in ODI Cricket
242: The third-highest partnership for the 3rd wicket came between Steve Smith and George Bailey, who together posted a massive 242 runs against India at Perth. The pair made these runs in just over 36 overs to enable a comfortable 5-wicket win for the Aussies in their pursuit of the 310 set by India.
2: The number of partnerships on this list that occurred during a World Cup game. One came in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, while the other came in the 2003 World Cup, both of which involved India.
237: The stand between the Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in a 1999 Cricket World Cup group stage game against Kenya at Bristol. India’s opener Ramesh gave a good start after losing his fellow opener Ganguly early on, and then it was the Rahul-Sachin show as they hammered hapless Kenyan bowlers across the park, taking the team total to 329/2. While Sachin smashed an unbeaten 101-ball 140, Dravid remained unscathed on 104.
234: This match we are talking about also involves India, but here the Indian bowlers were on the receiving side of the assault by the Australian duo of then-skipper Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn. And the occasion to make this splendid display was the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 final in Johannesburg. Ponting was the star of the show, scoring an unbeaten 140, while Martyn (88*) gave him great company as Australia piled up 359/2 on the big day. And eventually, Australia won the game rather easily.
239: The runs scored in the partnership between Sri Lankan batters Avishka Fernando and Kusal Mendis in an ODI at Hambantota against the West Indies. Coming in the back of losing 2 wickets early on, this pair gave the innings much-needed stability and then provided momentum for a strong Sri Lankan finish. Sri Lanka eventually made 345 batting first, and these batters both scored superlative tons each.
