An opening pair like no other!

For Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill it must have been like a lionrsquos den It was difficult discerning Motera from Colombo as a proPakistani crowd welcomed India onto the field with their usual blend of colour and clatterNot only did the tension among the smattering of fans sporting blue jerseys feel palpable there was also the external and the more ruthless pressure The openers entered the fray knowing that cricket has been a constant casualty of IndiaPakistan conflict over many decades Garlands if they won and if not an opportunity for thousands to heap humiliationGill having looked out of sorts and dismissed for a twoball duck against Australia earlier this year that had reminded India of their competitive mortality set the tone for proceedings The opening boundary was a classic example of the Gill genre of batting a sublime square cut sent racing across the ropeAlso ReadIN PHOTOS 5 players to watch out at ODI World Cup 2023Shaheen Afridi one of the most feared fast bowlers in modernday cricket returned to his mark and nearly several balls later nipped one back that narrowly missed Gillrsquos offstump An over later it was Afridi again as the scoreboard showed six additional runs but this time it was captain Rohit Sharma at the crease No amount of pace or spin could shake off this Indian pairTogether they stitched a 121run partnership with both players scoring halfcenturies The duo reached the 100run mark in only 134 overs as Pakistan struggled to contain the onslaught by the newly minted pairThe RohitGill combination etched their names in the annals of cricket history as it was the 13th occasion of an Indian opening pair contributing to a 100run partnership against Pakistan The century partnership also meant that India equalled Australias alltime record for most 100 stands by a team against Pakistan in historyOnly two days later they became the fastest Indian pair to complete 1000 ODI partnership runs during their Asia Cup Super 4 encounter against Sri Lanka The righthanded pair crossed the milestone mark with India reaching 36 for no loss after being put to bat first They achieved the record in just their 13th innings together in this format which placed them in rare company among all nations Notably Rohit held the same record with lsquofitagainrsquo KL Rahul in the past completing 1000 runs in overall 14 inningsHaving notched up 143 runs for the first wicket against the same opponents in January this year RohitGill have since reeled off three more 100 partnerships including two in succession at the Asia CupAs the World Cup is upon us Rohit and Gillrsquos impact at the top is not only significant for India With each passing innings and the accumulation of century partnerships their collaboration becomes the driving force behind Indias quest for World Cup glory in 2023 Not only is their average ndash 913 runs per dismissal ndash the highest among openers with minimum 1000 runs in the format their individual strikerates are also enough to intimidate the opponentsldquoI think his Rohitrsquos targeted areas are a bit different to mine He loves to go aerial in the Powerplayrdquo Gill was quoted as saying by the ICCldquoAnd Irsquom someone who likes to find the gaps and keep getting those boundaries and hersquos someone who likes to hit sixes So I think that combination works well Hersquos someone who likes the other batters to go and just express himself and play the way I want to play the game So in that nature he gives the players full freedom for how they want to express their gamerdquo he added This philosophy will be most tested in the 50over World Cup if both Rohit and Gill are going hell for leather and the game situation dictates at least one of them throttle backSuccessful opening stands can be like longstanding marriages with the two parties involved not having to be peas in a pod to work in perfect harmony Every side requires a solid platform to build on at first runs at the top lay foundations for what unfolds later in the game no matter how they are scoredSome partnerships dovetail perfectly with one aggressor and the other accumulator much like Rohit and Gill where they can bank on each other to keep the opposition at bay as long as they are at the crease Their exquisite dynamism and consistency at the top of Indiarsquos oneday batting order have been the main reason behind Indiarsquos No1 rank in the formatCoaches would argue that opening pairs ideally come as right and lefthanded combinations to mess with the bowlers lines However Rohit and Gill are both righthanders but they mess with bowlersrsquo lengths in neat fashion Rohit being savage on anything wide of offstump while Gill is brutal with deliveries near legstump Their collective power means they also scramble bowlersrsquo minds thus exuding fear among opponents more commonly attributed towards aggressive pacers than batsmen themselvesWith India successfully addressing their toporder instability they advance to the 50over cricket spectacle in pursuit of their first World Cup trophy since 2011 Should they achieve this feat much credit will be attributed to the extraordinary opening partnership forged by Rohit and Gill a duo that is reshaping ODI cricket through their unmatched performances