5 highest Virat Kohli-MS Dhoni partnerships in limited-overs cricket
Partnerships play a very crucial role in the game of cricket. Be it with the bat or the ball, when two players are in tandem, or in sync, it helps to build up momentum for one side, or stem the flow for the other.
Indian cricket fans have been treated a number of different partnerships over the years. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, and later, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad, and, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. These duos have helped to script some of the most iconic moments in Indian cricket.
With the evolution of the game, a partnership in the middle to lower batting order has become of paramount importance. With targets, no matter how steep, never out of reach for batting attacks of the world today, the need to bat in tandem can never be understated.
The Indian team enjoyed having MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh as a great partnership for a number of years, with the duo together even during the 2011 World Cup final. But now, with the change of guard from MS Dhoni to Virat Kohli, this pair seems to be the most promising.
We look at 5 instances in the past where Kohli and Dhoni helped India overcome their opponents –
67* – India vs Australia – 31st March 2016, Mohali – World T20
India and Australia have developed an iconic rivalry over the years with the Aussies almost rivalling the Pakistanis as India’s biggest foe. With a semi-finals berth up for grabs, the visitors had revenge on their minds and were looking to exorcise the demons of the 2011 World Cup.
The Aussies scored a formidable 160 batting first and had India reeling at 94 – 4 at the end of 14 overs when MS Dhoni, India’s captain joined Virat Kohli at the crease.
The skipper took a backseat in this partnership, letting his younger teammate do the bulk of the hitting as the duo scored 67 runs in 5.1 overs to take India home with 5 balls to spare.
Kohli ended with an unbeaten 82 on that day, arguably one of his best innings ever.