World Cup 2019: Rating the opening pairs of all teams in the tournament

The stage is set for the 2019 World Cup and the teams are keen to showcase their skills. The warm-up games are giving the players enough time to acclimatize to the English conditions. Most of the cricketers believe that this edition will be a tight one as all the participants have enough firepower. The fans are elated as they are going to witness some of the best white ball action in this span of 2 months.

England is hosting the event for the 5th time, and if the trend of the past 4 years continues, then the batsmen will definitely enjoy their stay. In this edition, many records are going to tumble and one of them is the runs scored by the opening partnerships. With flat pitches and short boundaries, the teams will be banking on their top order to provide brisk starts. As each of the sides consists of a good opening pair, it is worth rating them on a scale of 10.

1) Mohammad Shahzad & Hazratullah Zazai (Afghanistan) – 7.5/10

The Asian country is playing its second World Cup and they are looking to spring some surprises in the tournament. Afghanistan has a balanced side and two of their attacking batsmen are their openers. Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai are two of their best strikers. As the middle-order consists of innings builders, these two are the aggressors at the top of the order.

Shehzad has played 81 games and his strike rate is 88.7, while Zazai has represented the nation 8 times and his strike rate is 93. The left-right combination has opened the innings 5 times for Afghanistan. Together they have scored just 90 runs in these games but their partnership will be a key factor for the team’s success. The dup proved its mettle in the warm-up game against Pakistan smashing their bowlers left, right and centre and would love to continue in the same vein.

2) Aaron Finch & David Warner (Australia) – 8/10

The five-time champions looked out of sorts at the start of the year, but they are entering the tournament with momentum behind them. Australia have a strong squad on the paper but the team environment will be critical for them in this World Cup. The Kangaroos will see their former opening pair, David Warner and Aaron Finch return to the fold. Both of them are game-changers in their own rights.

Warner has played 106 games in which he has scored over 4300 runs at a strike rate of 97, and Finch has played 109 times in which he has piled up over 4000 runs at a strike rate of 89. Till now they have opened the innings 48 times amassing over 2100 runs at an average 44. With five century partnerships, the duo has the ability to take the game away from the opposition.

3) Tamim Iqbal & Soumya Sarkar (Bangladesh) – 7/10

The reputation of Bangla tigers is growing after each ICC event and this time their team has the experience to penetrate deep in the competition. The Mashrafe Mortaza-led side has a stable batting line-up. Their openers for the tournament are two stroke-makers in the form of Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar. Both the left-handers have been in good form and they have the ability to play big shots from the word go.

Tamim is an experienced campaigner with 6600 runs in 193 ties at a strike rate of 78, while Sarkar is an aggressor who has played 44 games in which he has scored over 1400 runs at a strike rate of 100. They have opened the innings 26 times in which they have accumulated 1160 runs at an average of 45. The duo has crossed the three-figure mark between them four times. As both the players are left-handers other teams and are also vulnerable against the bouncers, the opposition teams can set their strategies to get the better of them early.

4) Jason Roy & Johnny Bairstow (England) – 9.5/10

The Three Lions are the overwhelming favourites to win the title at their home turf, as they have been in red hot form in the white ball cricket after the debacle in the last edition. England has match-winners throughout their line-up. Their opening pair of Jason Roy and Johnny Bairstow can really scare the opposition with their presence on the field. They can set up the base perfectly for their middle order to flourish.

Roy has represented the Brits in 77 ODIs in which he has scored nearly 3000 runs at a strike rate of 106, and on the other side Bairstow has piled up 2300 runs in just 44 games at a strike rate of 107. The peers have opened the innings 26 times snowballing over 1600 runs at a stunning average of 64. They already have seven-century partnerships between them. Their style of play is completely contrasting and on their day they can tear apart any bowling line-up.

5) Henry Nicholls & Martin Guptill (New Zealand) – 7/10

The Black Caps were the finalists in the last edition and this time they will love to take a step further in their journey. They have a settled core with almost all bases covered. New Zealand will bank on their batsmen to put up a good show which includes their openers Henry Nicholls and Martin Guptill. Colin Munro not doing well in recent times has forced the management to make this shift while the southpaw is the backup opener.

Guptill has scored over 6600 runs in 169 ODIs at a strike rate of 87 and his partner, Nicholls has played 41 ODIs in which he has amassed 1029 runs at a strike rate of 85. The duo will compliment each other really well as Guptill will go after the bowling while Nicholls will just look to rotate the strike and make sure that the scoreboard remains ticking. However, both haven’t played much with each other which is concerning for the Kiwis.

6) Fakhar Zaman & Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) – 7/10

The Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side is down on confidence as they have received a pasting from England and Australia in the span of 3 months. The side is full of youngsters who are capable of becoming stars in the near future. Even though the team has some batting issues, their opening pair seems to bloom at the right pace. Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq could turn out be their batting mainstays in this World Cup.

Zaman has featured in 36 matches for Pakistan in which he has scored 1600 runs at a strike rate of 98, and Imam has played 28 games smashing more than 1400 runs at a strike rate of 82. The pair has combined together 24 times and they have already gathered close to 1300 runs at a striking average of 58. They have put on 4 century stands with the highest being 304. Most of their heroics have come against low ranked teams and have struggled more often than not against the quality bowling attacks.

7) Quinton de Kock & Hashim Amla (South Africa) – 7.5/10

The Proteas have been consistent in their white ball tourney but in order to achieve the glory, they have to play their best cricket in each of the games. The side has an attractive bowling line-up but their batting doesn’t inspire much. After all the speculations, Hashim Amla will finally open the innings after being picked in the World Cup squad and his form in the warm-up games must’ve delighted South Africa. He will open alongside the in-form Quinton de Kock.

De Kock has scored 4600 runs in just 106 ties at a strike rate of 96, while the experienced Amla’s numbers have gone down a bit but no team will be taking his wicket for granted. Both of them have racked up some amazing numbers at the top order for their country. In 86 innings batting together, the duo has amassed 4014 runs at an average of 47.78 and have got the team off to a century start on 10 occasions. But Amla’s recent form has been discouraging and that could cause some troubles for the Proteas in the tournament proper.

8) Dimuth Karunaratne & Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka) – 5/10

The Lankan lions are going through a turmoil and in the 2019 World Cup, they will try to rediscover themselves in this format. Sri Lanka has a lot of loopholes in their side as not a single player has established himself in the playing XI with his performances. The team will be introducing their new opening pair in the form of Avishka Fernando and Dimuth Karunaratne. It will be a tough task for them as they have never been regulars in the ODI set up.

Both the batsmen have walked together just once and they put on a partnership of 123 against Scotland. The selectors have gambled by picking up two players who are just finding their feet in the format. In white ball cricket, openers require different skill-set and these players might lack in that aspect in such a big tournament.

9) Chris Gayle & Evin Lewis (Windies) – 7/10

The island nation has a perfect mix of experience and exuberance in their squad and they can be a threat for the top teams. Apart from a couple of frailties, the team looks capable of going the distance in this World Cup. Their opening pair consists of two game changers in the form of Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis. These cricketers are capable of providing a hitting exhibition to the spectators with their power game.

Gayle has represented the Caribbean side 289 times accumulating over 10000 runs at a strike rate of 87 and Lewis has played 32 games in which he has scored over 1000 runs at a strike rate of 82. They have opened the innings 13 times and haven’t set the stage exactly on fire so far in the ODIs. On their day both these left-handers can send the opposition on a leather hunt. Windies will need these two to fire from the word go if they are to rack up huge totals consistently.

10) Shikhar Dhawan & Rohit Sharma – 9/10

As usual, the Men in Blue are again entering a multi-nation tournament with a favourite tag attached to them. The team looks a well-oiled machine and one of their important components is their opening pair. From the last 6 years, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been spreading magic at the top of the order. Both the individuals have scaled various records and their contributions have been invaluable for the team.

Their compatibility cannot be questioned as they have walked together in the middle 101 times in which they have gathered 4500 runs at an average of 45. These superstars have 15-century partnerships between them with the highest being 210. As the Virat Kohli-led side has an inexperienced middle-order, the fate of the side will be heavily dependent on this combination.