10 Highest Partnerships in IPL History

The highest partnership in IPL history still belongs to Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. They added 229 runs for the 2nd wicket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on May 14, 2016, after Chris Gayle fell early. RCB ended on 248/3, then bowled the Gujarat Lions out for 104 and won by 144 runs. Kohli made 109, and de Villiers smashed 129, while the official IPL report described the stand as one of huge scale and the centrepiece of a crushing win.

What made the stand special was the speed after a watchful start. RCB were only 42/1 at the end of the power play, then the pair ripped the game open. The scorecard shows the 100-run stand came in 59 balls, the 150 in 79 balls, and the 200 in only 89 balls. By the time the innings ended, Gujarat had no route back into the match. In IPL history, very few partnerships have mixed control and damage on that level for so long.

Only Kohli and de Villiers have gone past 215 in the IPL more than once. Their unbeaten 215 for the 2nd wicket against the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede on May 10, 2015, sits 2nd on the all-time list. RCB posted 235/1, with de Villiers hammering 133 not out and Kohli adding 82, then beat Mumbai by 39 runs.

That innings had a different shape from the 229 against the Gujarat Lions. Here, the pair did not just rebuild after an early wicket; they batted through nearly the whole innings and shut Mumbai out of the contest. The scorecard shows the 100-run stand arrived in 58 balls and the 200 in 98 balls, which underlines how little relief the bowling side found. De Villiers won Player of the Match, but the bigger point is how often he and Kohli turned RCB innings into the record books. Two of the top 2 partnerships in IPL history belong to the same pair, and both came inside 13 months.

Lucknow Super Giants entered the top end of the list in 2022 through KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock. They put on 210 unbeaten for the 1st wicket against the Kolkata Knight Riders at DY Patil Stadium on May 18, 2022. De Kock finished on 140 not out, Rahul on 68 not out, and LSG reached 210/0 before winning a tense game by 2 runs. The official IPL report said the stand was a record unbeaten opening partnership and a key reason LSG sealed a playoff place.

A chase often gets more attention in T20 cricket, but this partnership came while setting a target and still carried huge pressure. LSG needed a win to confirm a playoff berth, and the openers produced almost a full-innings stand. KKR fought hard in reply and nearly stole the match, which also shows how massive the opening pair’s job had to be. Without 210 and de Kock’s 140 not out, Lucknow probably does not finish with enough runs on the board.

Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan matched the 210 mark in 2024 and moved the Gujarat Titans into 4th place on the list. Against Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad on May 10, 2024, they added 210 for the 1st wicket. Gill made 104 and Sudharsan 103, GT piled up 231/3, and then beat CSK by 35 runs. The IPL match report called it an exhibition from the two batters and a stand that kept Gujarat’s playoff hopes alive.

One reason that stands out is the quality of the attack and the stage of the season. Gujarat needed a near-perfect batting display and got one from both openers, not from one batter carrying the innings alone. Gill and Sudharsan reached hundreds in the same innings, which is rare in IPL play, and their work at the top left CSK with a steep chase from ball one. Gujarat had found a long-term opening pair, and this match showed how dangerous that partnership could become.

Before the Kohli and de Villiers era took hold, the IPL record belonged to Kings XI Punjab. Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh added 206 for the 2nd wicket against the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Dharamsala on May 17, 2011. Gilchrist blasted 106 off 55 balls, Marsh hit 79 off 49, Kings XI reached 232/2, and they beat RCB by 111 runs. ESPNcricinfo’s scorecard and an ICC report both note that the stand set a new IPL record at the time.

The pace of the innings deserves attention. The scorecard shows the pair brought up the 100 in 51 balls, the 150 in 71, and the 200 in 96. Gilchrist’s attack set the tone early, while Marsh kept the pressure on from the other end. RCB never recovered after that assault. In a league full of heavy hitters, Gilchrist and Marsh produced one of the earliest examples of a partnership that completely broke a match open.

Gill and Sudharsan appear again at No. 6, which says a lot about their value to the Gujarat Titans. Against Delhi Capitals in Delhi on May 18, 2025, they chased 200 without losing a wicket and finished on 205/0. Sudharsan ended with 108 not out, Gill with 93 not out, and GT won by 10 wickets with an over left. ESPNcricinfo’s match report notes that Gujarat became only the second team in all T20 cricket to chase 200 or more without losing a wicket.

A huge partnership in a chase often carries more pressure than one in a first innings, especially when the target is close to 200. Delhi had 199/3, so Gujarat still needed a near-flawless reply. Gill and Sudharsan did not just survive; they controlled the chase from start to finish. That stand also pushed them into rare company in IPL history, as one pair with two stands above 200. Only Kohli and de Villiers had done that earlier.

Virat Kohli appears for a 3rd time in the top 10, here with Chris Gayle. The pair added 204 unbeaten for the 2nd wicket against Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla on May 17, 2012. Gayle smashed 128 not out, Kohli finished with 73 not out, RCB made 215/1, and won by 21 runs. ESPNcricinfo’s match report said the pair took 204 off a depleted Delhi attack and powered Bangalore to the highest total of that IPL season at that stage.

Gayle’s six-hitting drew most of the headlines, but Kohli’s role gave the innings balance. A stand of 204 not out needs both batters to keep the rate high for a long stretch, and that is exactly what happened. The unbeaten tag matters too, because Delhi could not break the partnership once it began. In IPL history, RCB partnerships fill a huge part of the top end, and Gayle with Kohli added another chapter to that pattern.

At No. 8 comes one of the strongest chases on the list. David Warner and Naman Ojha put on 189 unbeaten for the 2nd wicket for the Delhi Daredevils against Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad on May 10, 2012. Delhi chased 188 in only 16.4 overs, Warner blasted 109 off 54 balls, Ojha made 64 not out, and the side won by 9 wickets with 20 balls left. The scorecard shows the 150-run stand came up in 84 balls as the chase raced away from Deccan.

Many giant stands come while piling up a first-innings total, but this one came in pursuit of a target that should have asked hard questions. Deccan had already reached 187/4, with Shikhar Dhawan scoring 84. Delhi answered with one of the cleanest chases in IPL history. Warner’s hundred gave the innings its fire, while Ojha matched him for tempo at crucial moments. A 189-run unbroken stand in a chase is still among the sharpest batting displays the league has seen.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s explosive opening pair of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow takes 9th place. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad on March 31, 2019, they added 185 for the 1st wicket. Bairstow hit 114, Warner made 100, SRH finished on 231/2, and then crushed RCB by 118 runs. The official IPL report called the 185-run stand the highest opening partnership in the IPL at the time.

Centuries from both openers in the same innings always carry extra weight, and that is what SRH got here. The scorecard shows they were already 184/0 after 16 overs, which tells the full story of the damage. RCB’s chase never got close, and the team folded for 113. Warner and Bairstow formed one of the fiercest opening pairs of that period, and this match sits as their clearest statement in the IPL.

Rounding out the top 10 are Chris Lynn and Gautam Gambhir for the Kolkata Knight Riders. They shared an unbeaten 184 for the 1st wicket against the Gujarat Lions in Rajkot on April 7, 2017. KKR chased 184 without losing a wicket in only 14.5 overs, with Lynn on 93 not out and Gambhir on 76 not out. The official IPL report said the pair powered KKR to a 10-wicket win, while ESPNcricinfo called it a world-record chase in T20 cricket at the time for a target of 184 without loss.

The numbers look huge, but the speed is what turns the stand into one of the most memorable in IPL history. Chasing 184 in 14.5 overs is not just efficient, it is brutal. Lynn attacked hard from the start, Gambhir kept the innings stable and quick, and Gujarat had no answer once the powerplay slipped away. KKR have had many strong opening pairs, but few can match the force and clean finish of this one.