5 batsmen involved in most century partnerships in World Cup history
Across eight editions of the ODI World Cup thus far, massive match-turning partnerships by great batsmen have been witnessed by fans, with the record of the highest stand for any wicket being held by Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who frustrated Zimbabwe with a 372-run association at Canberra in 2015. The only other three hundred-run partnership was that between Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly against Sri Lanka – 318 runs at Taunton in 1999 – which too was for the second wicket.
But Sportskeeda traces batsmen who have been involved in most century unions in cricket's biggest tournament, with all modern-day names featuring in the top 5.
#5 Tillakaratne Dilshan – 8
Matches: 27, Runs: 1,112, Average: 52.95, Highest Score: 161*
An explosive opener who switched well from his role in the middle-order, Tillakaratne Dilshan took to his new position with ease. In total, he played in three World Cups, being a part of the sides which reached consecutive finals in 2007 and 2011. In 25 innings, Dilshan was engaged in 8 centuries stands, the biggest of those being 282 with Upul Tharanga against Zimbabwe at Pallekele in 2011, the highest for the opening wicket in the tournament's history. He cracked 2 hundreds in that edition and added 2 more in 2015, including his career-best in the format with 161* against Bangladesh at Melbourne.
Tharanga was also on the other side when the opening pair wiped out England in the quarter-final in 2011, chasing down 230 all by themselves. Dilshan's other partners with whom he stitched century partnerships in World Cups included Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne, alongside whom he joined hands in four and two such partnerships, respectively.