Highest ODI opening partnership for India: The Indian opening batters ensured their eighth 10-wicket victory in this format.
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Opening batters Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill joined hands for a 192-run partnership to power India to a massive 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first ODI at the Harare Sports Club today.
India’s eighth 10-wicket ODI victory is also their third against Zimbabwe and second at this venue. Playing an international match against Zimbabwe after more than six years, India now have two consecutive 10-wicket victories against them.
Dhawan and Gill’s fifth instance of opening the batting at the highest level once again yielded fruits for the team on the back of their 38th and third ODI half-centuries respectively.
Dhawan, who scored 81* (113) at a strike rate of 71.68 with the help of nine fours, registered his 28th ODI half-century in a winning effort, 20th away from home, fifth in Africa and in 2022, third under KL Rahul and first against and in Zimbabwe.
Gill, on the other hand, changed gears quite swiftly after crossing the 50-run mark as him hitting 10 fours and a six at a strike rate of 113.88 played a titular role in sealing the chase in the 31st over.
Highest ODI opening partnership for India (updated on January 24, 2023)
| S. No. | Batters | Runs | Opposition | Ground | Year |
| 1 | Sourav Ganguly & Sachin Tendulkar | 258 | Kenya | Paarl | 2001 |
| 2 | Sourav Ganguly & Sachin Tendulkar | 252 | Sri Lanka | Colombo (RPS) | 1998 |
| 3 | Ajinkya Rahane & Shikhar Dhawan | 231 | Sri Lanka | Cuttack | 2014 |
| 4 | Rohit Sharma & KL Rahul | 227 | West Indies | Visakhapatnam | 2019 |
| 5 | Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill | 212 | New Zealand | Indore | 2023 |
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Readers must note that Dhawan and Gill’s match-winning partnership is the 12th highest opening partnership among Indian batters. In what is the seventh highest overseas ODI opening stands for Indian batters, it is their second-highest against Zimbabwe.
