3) Martin Guptill & Brendon McCullum
McCullum & Guptill are another pair on the list of best opening pairs in the ODI World Cup History. The duo opened innings for New Zealand in the 2011 & 2015 World Cups, scoring 838 runs in 17 matches together, with their best stand being an unbeaten 166 runs & average 55.86.
Their best opening stand of 166 runs against Zimbabwe came in the World Cup 2011 when Guptill scored an unbeaten 86* & McCullum added an unbeaten 76 to reach the target of 163 runs without losing even a single wicket. As both the batters were very good against the pacer, it helped New Zealand a lot in getting good starts. Interestingly, while facing the opponents, McCullum went after the bowlers while Guptill stabilized the partnership. This lethal combination of caution with aggression helped New Zealand to witness some remarkable opening stands which laid the foundation for the Black Caps’ glorious wins.
