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Pak vs Aus, CWC '23: Warner, Marsh register Australia's highest opening stand in World Cup history

Pak vs Aus, CWC '23: Warner, Marsh register Australia's highest opening stand in World Cup history

David Warner, Mitchell Marsh register Australia's highest opening stand in World Cup history

Pakistan have locked horns with Australia in match 18 of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 edition on Friday (Oct 20) at the M Chidambaram Stadium in south Indian city of Bengaluru. Winning the toss, Babar Azam & Co. opted to bowl first and were taken to the cleaners by Aussie openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh as the duo broke a plethora of records during their record 259-run opening stand. Marsh and Warner were at their attacking best from the powerplays and never allowed the Pakistani bowlers to settle on a batting-friendly pitch.

As a result, the two stitched the highest opening stand for Australia in ODI World Cup history. The pair surpassedShane Watson and Brad Haddin's 183-run first-wicket stand against Canada at the same venue in 2011. In addition, this is the highest partnership against Pakistan for any wicket in ODI World Cup history. Moreover, this is the second-highest opening partnership ever in the tournament history, with Upul Tharanga-Tillakaratne Dilshan's 282 remaining the highest (during the 2011 edition).

Overall, this is Australia's third-highest opening stand in the ODI format.

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Highest opening partnerships for Australia in ODIs
284 - David Warner & Travis Head vs Pakistan, Adelaide, 2017
269 - David Warner & Travis Head vs England, Melbourne, 2022
259 - David Warner & Mitchell Marsh vs Pakistan, Bengaluru, 2023
258* - David Warner & Aaron Finch vs India, Mumbai WS, 2020
246 - Aaron Finch & Shaun Marsh vs Scotland, Edinburgh, 2013

With Travis Head set to return to the Australia XI sooner than later, it will be interesting to see if the Pat Cummins-led team management change the opening combination or not.

Marsh and Warner were at their best from the word go. They attacked the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf (slamming him for 24 in his first over), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammed Nawaz, Usama Mir, etc. to slam their respective tons and take Australia off to a flying start. Marsh fell for 121 whereas Warner was nearing his 150 at the time of publishing this report.

Pakistan are coming into this clash on the back of a heavy seven-wicket loss versus India, on Oct 14, whereas Australia achieved their first win in their last outing, beating Sri Lanka by five wickets on Monday (Oct 16).