7 highest opening partnerships in ODIs

#5 Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan

One look at Upul Tharanga's ODI numbers and there is nothing that is likely to leave you in a daze. Having played nearly 200 ODIs, he has just over 5,000 runs at an average of 33 with 13 centuries and yet he features twice in the top three of this list, with two different opening partners.

The first time he features is along with Tillakaratne Dilshan. In the 2011 World Cup in which Sri Lanka reached the final, they also had one of the most productive opening pairs of the tournament. Against Zimbabwe, in the Group encounter, Dilshan and Tharanga put on 282 for the opening wicket as both players scored centuries.

Although neither player went completely berserk, their calm and calculated approach yielded rich rewards for Sri Lanka. They put on 282 in just under 45 overs with Dilshan top-scoring with 144 off 131 balls while Tharanga got 133.

Despite their impressive efforts, Sri Lanka could manage just 327 in their 50 overs but that was still enough to give them a 139-run win. Even their massive partnership is only good enough for third spot on this list.