In the 13 seasons of IPL thus far, IPL has given us glorious memories. Certain teams have had such strong cores that it is difficult to imagine them having any other playing 11. We have seen records that one could never imagine and just when one would think that they are cast in stone, some player has come forward to better the record.
The franchises that have traditionally done well have done it on the backs of solid batting and bowling partnerships. KKR had Gambhir and Bisla at the top of the order. Chennai did spectacularly with Raina and Hussey in the middle. SRH banked heavily on Warner and Dhawan and then Warner and Bairstow after Dhawan left. Batting partnerships are integral to the T20 format because without strong batting partnerships a team cannot think of big scores.
In this article, we shall look at the best batting pairs of various franchises and list down the top 5 pairs who have the most runs between them in the IPL history:
1. Virat Kohli – AB de Villers
This pair is not even a surprise at the top of the list. They have played so much cricket together that it would be shocking if it was anyone else. They have batted together since 2011. their highest batting partnership together was 229 against Gujarat Lions in 2016. They have been involved in 10 occasions when they have put up 100 or more runs together. Together, they have scored 3108 runs and with the two friends have decided to carry on in RCB, the number is only to grow.
2. Virat Kohli – Chris Gayle
The other pillar of RCB who has left RCB now is Gayle. After De Villers, he has batted the most with Kohli, and therefore, they sit in the second position. Together the two legends have cumulatively scored a gargantuan 2812 runs. Their record stand came against Delhi Capitals in 2012 when they put on 204 runs stand for the second wicket.
3. Shikhar Dhawan – David Warner
The two southpaws opened for SRH from 2014 and 2017 and invariably ensured that the team got off to a rollicking start. Across 50 innings they totally scored 2357 runs together. They were instrumental in winning the first title for SRH in 2016. Warner was the aggressor while Dhawan supported and anchored from the other end.
4. Robin Uthappa – Gautam Gambhir
A delightful left-right hand combination was witnessed in KKR between 2014-17. they piled on 1906 runs across 50 innings. They too played a pivotal role in KKR’s second IPL title in 2014 with Uthappa being the calming effect and Gambhir going berserk at the top of the order. The pair has stitched five 100+ partnerships- the highest being 158 against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017.
5. Chris Gayle – KL Rahul
Rahul and Gayle have joined hands when they were initially in the RCB. They then moved together to the Punjab Kings. Under Rahul’s captaincy, Gayle was slotted in at one drop. Together, the two players have combined forces to amass 1630 runs. Gayle plays the role of a perfect dominator and Rahul ensures that the partnership keeps ticking from the other end without losing any wickets.
