Image: Cricket in numbers highlights Team India most explosive and rapid batting partnerships in ODI format / © Yahoo Sports
There have been plenty of 200-plus partnerships in Indian ODI cricket, but very few have come at this sort of speed. In all 3 cases, the bowlers started with a plan. A few overs later, those plans were gone. The runs kept coming, the boundaries kept coming, and the scoreboards moved much faster than anyone expected.
India were already in a good position against the Netherlands at the World Cup. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli had all done their bit. Then came the final phase of the innings. KL Rahul looked like he was in a hurry. He reached his hundred in just 62 balls and barely gave the bowlers a chance to settle.
Shreyas Iyer was not far behind. He kept finding gaps, picked the right balls to attack, and finished unbeaten on 128. What made the stand special was the speed. The two added 208 runs without being separated, and they needed only 125 balls to get there. India crossed 400, finishing on 410 for 4. By the time the chase began, the game already felt over. India eventually won by 160 runs.
Afghanistan had made a decent start. Yashasvi Jaiswal was back in the pavilion early, and Rohit Sharma followed soon after. That brought Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan together. Gill’s innings had a calm feel to it. There was no rush. He kept collecting boundaries, and the score moved along nicely. Kishan was different. He looked ready to attack almost every bowler who came on.
The partnership grew quickly. Then it became huge. Before Afghanistan knew it, the pair had added 224 runs for the 3rd wicket. Gill scored 154, Kishan made 125, and India were heading towards another 400-plus total. The visitors never recovered from that assault and lost by 170 runs.
Some innings are remembered for years. This was one of them. India had lost Shikhar Dhawan for 3 when Virat Kohli joined Ishan Kishan. Bangladesh probably felt they had made a useful start. It did not last long. Kishan was hitting boundaries almost from the moment he arrived. The more he scored, the more confident he became. Kohli watched from the other end and played exactly the sort of innings his team needed.
Their partnership reached 290 runs. Kishan made 210 from 131 balls, while Kohli added 113. India went past 400 and finished on 409 for 8. 227 runs beat Bangladesh, but the lasting image from that match remains Kishan walking off after a stunning double century. Years later, it is still one of the most memorable ODI knocks by an Indian batter.