Are Jason Roy-Jonny Bairstow Best ODI Openers Of All Time?

Cricket Image for Are Jason Roy-Jonny Bairstow Best ODI Openers Of All Time? (Image Source: AFP)

The England openers - Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy -  in the 1st ODI against India shared a 135 run stand in just 14 overs. They both looked comfortable in approaching the innings with attacking intent from the first ball itself. 

However, this isn't the first time they have played like this in ODIs. Bairstow and Roy have been opening the innings for England since 2017 and have scored 2539 runs together. One of the things about their partnership is their aggressive approach. 

Their attacking intent shows the new English way and the reason why England has been one of the most successful teams in the limited-overs format in recent times. Bairstow and Roy while averaging 60.45 per dismissal have a run-rate of 7.04. 

7.04 is the all-time highest run-rate for opening pair in ODIs with a minimum of 1000 runs together. The next best rate is between Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum - 6.59, who have scored 1904 runs together in 47 innings. Even if list out the partners with more than 500 plus runs together, the Bairstow-Roy pair comes second in the list. The first is between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored 627 runs together with a run-rate of 7.05 in 18 innings. 

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