Opening Batsmen: No matter what style they play, the first batters are the most important part of any team. The opener’s job is to get the team off to a good start so that the other batters can keep the flow going and put up a big score. In Indian cricket, there have been some great openers in the last few decades. These openers have helped the team win many famous games. This article talks about the top ten Indian starters ever.
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Depending on the wickets and conditions, these Indian openers had different playing styles, attitudes, techniques, and strokes, but they were all real match-winners. They have hit some great shots that have been a joy to watch.
Let’s talk more about these beginnings-
Best Indian Opening Batsmen of All Time
10. Navjot Singh Sidhu
Navjot Singh Sidhu has won games for team India in the past with some great hits. Sidhu was able to score runs by figuring out the length of the ball early, whether he was punching with his front foot or playing straight down the ground.
The 58-year-old made a total of 2418 runs in 63 ODIs. He had 4 centuries and 15 half-centuries, and his best score was an unbeaten 134. He had an average of 40.30. The right-hander got 2911 runs in 69 Tests. He had 8 centuries and 15 half-centuries, with a high score of 201 against West Indies in 1997. His average score on the test was 42.81, which was very good.
9. Shikhar Dhawan
After Virender Sehwag retired, the left-handed player with a lot of personality was a great backup. The 37-year-old’s strong bottom hand lets him play powerful square cuts and hit some great cover shots. So far in his ODI career, Dhawan has made 6672 runs as an opener. He has 17 centuries, 38 half-centuries, and a high score of 143. He has played in 158 ODIs and has an average of 45.08 and a strike rate of 91.08. The most important thing is that he got them fast.
So far, the left-hander has made 2,315 runs in 58 Test innings, with 7 centuries, 5 half-centuries, and a high score of 190. He has an average score of 40.61 and a strike rate of 66.95.
8. Pankaj Roy
Many people would be surprised by this name, but in the 1950s, the right-hander was India’s most stylish and elegant opening. Roy played some great late cuts, and his cover shots were full of well-timed strokes.
As an opener for India, he got a total of 2,220 runs in 74 test matches. His highest score was 173 against New Zealand, and he had 4 centuries and 9 half-centuries. If you want to know how good Pankaj was during his time, you should read about this one thing he did that hasn’t been done since 2005.
7. Kris Srikkanth
He may have been the first Indian opener, and he gave Indian hitting a new kind of charm. His aggressive style was copied by the next crop of Indian batters, especially in the limited-overs format. The right-hander had the guts to face the most dangerous West Indian, Australian, and English bowlers.
Srikkanth cut the ball hard and pulled it strongly with his back foot, which made the fans very happy. He was the one who played in an unusual way.
6. Rohit Sharma
Possibly the most stylish batter in modern cricket, he stays calm and cool under pressure. He knows how to play every shot in the book. His smooth stroke play and balance make him a great player. The 35-year-old made 7409 runs in 147 ODIs. He had 27 centuries and 33 half-centuries, and his best score was 264. As an opener, he had an average of 56.56 and a strike rate of 92.50. The fact that he gets most of the 150s and 200s in ODI shows that he is the hitman.
The right-hander has made 1552 runs in 30 Test games, with a high score of 212. He has 5 centuries and 4 half-centuries, with an average of 55.45.
5. Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir’s bold batting showed how flashy he was on the pitch. The left-hander had the nerve to save India when things got tough. The 41-year-old’s drives were great, and his late cuts were beautiful. Gambhir was good against spinners, even on tracks that turned. Gambhir got 4119 runs in 101 Tests, with a high score of 206 and an average of 42.91. He had 9 centuries and 22 half-centuries.
Gambhir made 8 centuries and 21 half-centuries in 91 ODIs. His best score was 150. As the first batsman in ODIs, he has made 3367 runs for an average of 39.61.
4. Virender Sehwag
When “The Nawab of Najfgarh” got going, his damaging style of play was a nightmare for the bowlers. The right-hander hit the bowlers with a lot of strength with his powerful cuts and cracking drives.
The right-handed batsman made 7518 runs in 214 ODIs as the first batter, with an average of 36.49 and 14 hundred. As an opener in Test matches, he made 8207 runs in 170 innings, with a high score of 319. He had 22 centuries and 30 half-centuries, with an average of 50.04 and a strike rate of 83.08.
3. Sourav Ganguly
People love to call him “The Prince of Kolkata” because of how flashy he was as a leader, but his batting was all about timing and placement. The left-hander hit some great drives on the off-side, which was his favorite spot. Ganguly’s smooth stroke play included some great back foot punches. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar were one of the most dangerous starting pairs in ODI cricket.
Ganguly got 9157 runs as an opener in 241 games. He had 19 centuries and 58 half-centuries, with an average of 41.57 and a high of 183.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
When he was playing, he was known as the “Master Blaster” and “The God of Indian Cricket.” His straight drives, cover drives, square cuts, back-foot punches, and cracking pull shots were pure class. During his time as a player, the 48-year-old broke every mark. On and off the pitch, Tendulkar was a gentleman.
In 344 games as an opener, he got 15310 runs, which is an average of 48.29 runs per game. He also scored hundreds in the first innings of 45 ODIs.
1. Sunil Gavaskar
He was the first Indian batter to score more than 10,000 runs in Test cricket. People liked to call him the “Little Master” because he was determined, focused, and never gave up. Gavaskar had good technique and showed bravery when he played against some of the Caribbean’s most dangerous fast bowlers. It was fun to watch him hit straight shots.
As an opener, the right-hander got 9607 runs with an average of 50.29 and 33 centuries, 42 half-centuries, and a high of 221 runs. His best score ever was an unbeatable 236.
Indian Opening Batsmen in T20
| Opening Pair | Career | Inns | NO | Runs | Avg |
| R G Sharma & S Dhawan | 2013-2019 | 52 | 0 | 1743 | 33.52 |
| R G Sharma & K L Rahul | 2017-2022 | 34 | 0 | 1412 | 41.53 |
| V Sehwag & G Gambhir | 2007-2012 | 17 | 0 | 545 | 32.06 |
Indian Opening Batsmen in ODI
| Opening Pair | Career | Inns | NO | Runs | Avg |
| S R Tendulkar & S C Ganguly | 1996-2007 | 136 | 2 | 6609 | 49.32 |
| R G Sharma & S Dhawan | 2013-2022 | 115 | 2 | 5148 | 45.56 |
| S R Tendulkar & V Sehwag | 2002-2012 | 93 | 0 | 3919 | 42.14 |
Indian Opening Batsmen in TEST
| Opening Pair | Career | Inns | NO | Runs | Avg |
| V Sehwag & G Gambhir | 2004-2012 | 87 | 3 | 4350 | 51.79 |
| C P S Chauhan & S M Gavaskar | 1973-1981 | 59 | 2 | 3010 | 52.81 |
| M Vijay & S Dhawan | 2013-2018 | 41 | 1 | 1757 | 43.92 |
The all time best opening pairs for India across formats
| Opening Pair | Inns | Runs | High | NO | AVG | 100 | 50 |
| SC Ganguly, SR Tendulkar (1996-2007) | 136 | 6609 | 258 | 2 | 49.32 | 21 | 23 |
| S Dhawan, RG Sharma (2013-2022) | 115 | 5148 | 210 | 2 | 45.55 | 18 | 15 |
| V Sehwag, SR Tendulkar (2002-2012) | 93 | 3919 | 182 | 0 | 42.13 | 12 | 18 |
| G Gambhir, V Sehwag (2003-2013) | 38 | 1870 | 201* | 1 | 50.54 | 5 | 7 |
| S Gavaskar, K Srikkanth (1981-1987) | 55 | 1680 | 136 | 0 | 30.54 | 2 | 11 |
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