Batting in one of the first few games is never easy. There are many greats of the games including Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni who struggled a lot in the first few innings they played in international cricket. Batting naturally becomes difficult on your debut match but it gets even more difficult to make a partnership with someone who is also making their debut. In this article, we take a look at the highest partnerships by debutants in ODIs.
Top 10 highest partnerships by debutants in ODI
| Players | Runs | Wicket | Opposition | Date |
| Ryan Watson and Neil McCallum (Scotland) | 118 | 5th | Pakistan | 27th June, 2006 |
| Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe (Kenya) | 96 | 3rd | India | 18th February, 1996 |
| Michael Lumb and Moeen Ali (England) | 96 | 1st | West Indies | 28th February, 2014 |
| Mazhar Hussain and Vijay Mehra (UAE) | 94 | 3rd | India | 13th April, 1994 |
| Vani Morea and Charles Amini (PNG) | 91 | 6th | Hong Kong | 8th November, 2014 |
| Raees Ahmadzai and Samiullah Shinwari (Afghanistan) | 86 | 6th | Scotland | 19th April, 2009 |
| Nick Greenwood and Josh Lawrenson (Jersey) | 81 | 2nd | Canada | 27th March, 2023 |
| Eoin Morgan and Niall O’Brien (Ireland) | 80 | 3rd | Scotland | 5th August, 2006 |
| Duncan Fletcher and Iain Butchart (Zimbabwe) | 75* | 7th | Australia | 9th June, 1983 |
| Andrew White and Kevin O’Brien (Ireland) | 74 | 7th | England | 13th June, 2006 |
| Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali (Pakistan) | 74 | 8th | South Africa | 24th November, 2013 |
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Here are the top 3 partnerships
Ryan Watson and Neil McCallum, 118 runs vs Pakistan
Pakistan played a solitary ODI against Scotland in June of 2006. Pakistani skipper, Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to field first at Grange Cricket Club Ground, Edinburgh. Pakistan’s opening bowlers, Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif were too good for the Scottish top-order batters. Gul took two wickets while Asif took one and Colin Smith’s run out meant that Scotland lost four wickets with just 20 runs on the board. Ryan Watson making his debut was captaining the side. At 20 for 4, Watson was joined by another debutant, Neil McCallum. Eight of the 11 Scottish players were making their debut in that game. Watson and McCallum shared a 118-run stand for the fifth wicket. Watson was dismissed by a catch and bowl by Shahid Afridi after a fine innings of 80 runs. He scored 80 runs in 85 balls hitting 12 fours and one six. McCallum scored 68 runs in just 129 balls hitting five fours and one six. Shoaib Malik dismissed McCallum. The 118-run stand wasn’t enough for Scotland to win the match as Pakistan defeated the hosts by five wickets.
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Steve Tikolo and Maurice Odumbe, 96 runs vs India
Kenya was playing their first ODI during the 1996 Cricket World Cup against one of the hosts, India. Naturally, playing their first game all 11 players were making their debut. Indian skipper, Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, Kenya started on a positive note and lost just a couple of wickets after scoring 65 runs. Steve Tikolo and skipper Maurice Odumbe shared a 96-run stand for the third wicket. The duo were dismissed quickly which meant that Kenya could only manage 199 runs in their 50 overs. India thanks to an unbeaten century from Sachin Tendulkar chased down the target with seven wickets remaining.
Michael Lumb and Moeen Ali, 96 runs vs West Indies
England toured the West Indies in 2014 and in the very first ODI handed debut to Michael Lumb and Moeen Ali. Skipper, Stuart Broad won the toss and sent the West Indies to bat first. Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo and Daren Sammy scored half-centuries batting in the lower order. West Indies scored 269 runs in the first innings. Opening the batting, Lumb and Moeen Ali shared a 96-run opening stand. Ali was the first batter to be dismissed by Dwayne Smith after scoring 44 runs. Lumb scored a century but it went in vain as England lost the match by 15 runs.
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