IPL 2021: Top 5 memorable opening partnerships in the history of the tournament

The role of the openers in cricket is quite important. They are tasked to give their team a good start and if they succeed in doing that, it makes the job easy for the middle order batsmen to come in and play their natural game. Whichever format of the game it is, the opening stand always holds importance in terms of setting the tone for the innings. 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has created a platform where the best cricketers from the world come together and are seen playing together. The league has also allowed fans to witness some of the best openers from around the world come out and bat together. 

As the IPL 2021 is about to begin on April 09, it is a good time to look back at the best opening stands which the league has seen over the years. The league has seen some world-class opening pairs in its 13 seasons.

Here are the 5 memorable opening partnerships in the IPL:

1. Sachin Tendulkar-Sanath Jayasuriya

In the 90s, Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya emerged as two extremely good limited-overs openers. Tendulkar was all class when it came to opening the batting, while Sanath was one of the most dangerous openers that the world had seen. They went onto lead their countries, quit captaincy, come back to focus on their batting, and eventually became one of the greatest players from their respective countries.

The two got together when the Mumbai Indians roped in Jayasuriya as one of their overseas picks at the first IPL auction. The two shared some memorable opening stands while playing for Mumbai in the first three seasons. Jayasuriya was at his best in the first edition, smashing bowlers all over the park while Sachin was at the other end, putting pressure on the bowlers.

Their best partnership came in a match against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2008 in Port Elizabeth. They put 127 for the first wicket in just 12.2 overs. Jayasuriya made 52 runs off 32 balls. Tendulkar smashed 68 runs off 45 balls from the other end. Their partnership was a treat to watch for the kids from the 90s who had dreamt about the two batting together.