On This Day In 1999: After establishing their names with a memorable debut Test series in 1996, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made a roaring comeback to English shores at the 1999 World Cup. On this day, the then young duo took their initial stride towards greatness in One-Day Internationals by producing what was for long the highest partnership in men’s cricket history. Dravid and Ganguly combined to produce a marathon 318-run stand for the second wicket in a group stage encounter against Sri Lanka. As India batted first in a must-win clash played at Taunton, Dravid and Ganguly vindicated skipper Mohammad Azharuddin’s decision and hammered the dangerous Lankan Lions to all parts of the county ground renowned for offering the flattest surface in the competition. The flamboyant opener combined with his team’s dependable No.3 to relish the conditions and came up with an exhibition of the highest-quality strokes. Even the threatening pair of left-arm quick Chaminda Vaas and his legendary spin partner Muttiah Muralitharan weren’t spared on the day as Ganguly smacked his career-highest 183 off 158 deliveries, laden with 17 fours and 7 sixes, while Dravid overcame perceptions of him being a defensive player with a tremendous assault that culminated in 145 runs off 129 balls, featuring 17 four and 1 six. The elegant duo took the stings out of the Sri Lankan attack, reducing the opposition fielders to mere spectators. Having taken India to a gigantic 373/6 – the then second highest team score in World Cup history – Dravid and Ganguly snatched the fight off the Lankan minds, reducing the second half to a mere formality as the subcontinent rivals crumbled under the weight of the scoring rate to be dismissed for a paltry 216 all out. Senior pro Aravinda de Silva (56) and captain Arjuna Ranatunga (42) were the only ones to show some gumption against the Indians, for whom allrounder Robin Singh emerged as a stand-out bowler with his 5 for 31. Dravid and Ganguly’s 318-run stand was then the highest partnership in One-Day Internationals until surpassed months later the same year by Dravid and maestro Sachin Tendulkar with a 331-run stand against New Zealand. West Indies pair of Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle now hold the record for the highest ODI stand. The two former players added 372 runs for a second-wicket partnership versus Zimbabwe. It is also the highest partnership in World Cups, arriving in a 2015 group stage match played in Canberra. They overhauled the Dravid-Ganguly 1999 partnership, which remains the second-highest World Cup stand.