Top 10 Highest Partnerships in IPL History (2008–2025)

The highest partnership in IPL history stands at 229 runs, scored by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujarat Lions on 14 May 2016. That record has survived nine seasons, multiple format changes, and a whole new generation of batters trying to break it. As of IPL 2025, it still holds.

What makes the highest IPL partnerships worth tracking is not just the numbers. In T20 cricket, a 150-run partnership is rare. A 200-plus stand is almost unheard of. When it happens, it almost always decides the match before the second innings begin.

From 2008 to 2025, only ten partnerships have crossed the 200-run mark in IPL history. Six of those ten remained unbeaten. RCB accounts for four of the top ten. And one pair, Shubman Gill and B. Sai Sudharsan, has now done it twice in back-to-back seasons.

Top 10 Highest Partnerships in IPL History (2008–2025) Match-by-Match Breakdown

1. Virat Kohli & AB de Villiers – 229 (RCB vs Gujarat Lions, 2016)

This is still the biggest partnership in IPL history, and it came in one of the most dominant batting displays the tournament has seen. Virat Kohli scored 109 off 55 balls while de Villiers went even bigger with 129 off 52 balls. RCB posted 248/3. Gujarat Lions were bowled out for 104. The partnership did not just win the match. It ended as a contest inside the first ten overs of the chase.

De Villiers batted at No. 3, and the two came together early after a quick first wicket. What followed was 22.2 overs of batting that had the Chinnaswamy crowd in full voice from the first boundary. The 229-run stand has not been beaten in the 9 seasons since.

2. Virat Kohli & AB de Villiers – 215* (RCB vs Mumbai Indians, 2015)

A year before their record stand, the same pair put together 215 unbeaten runs against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede. De Villiers was extraordinary that evening, scoring 133* off 59 balls. Kohli added 82* off 50. RCB reached 235/1, and Mumbai were dismissed for 152.

This innings is widely considered one of the most complete batting performances by any pair in IPL history. Both batters finished unbeaten, and the partnership was never under pressure from the first ball de Villiers faced.

3. KL Rahul & Quinton de Kock – 210* (LSG vs KKR, 2022)

KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock hold the record for the highest opening partnership in IPL, a 210-run stand that consumed all 20 overs at the DY Patil Stadium. De Kock scored 140* off 70 balls. Rahul contributed 68* off 51. Neither was dismissed.

LSG posted 210/0, one of the very few instances in IPL history where a team’s entire innings consisted of a single unbroken stand. Despite the massive total, KKR chased it down to within 2 runs, losing in the final over. The partnership itself was historic. The match result made it even more memorable.

4. Shubman Gill & B. Sai Sudharsan – 210 (GT vs CSK, 2024)

Gill and Sudharsan made a name for themselves as a pair to watch in 2024 with this 210-run opening stand against the Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Gill scored the most runs with a calm knock, and Sudharsan played a supporting role that kept the scoreboard moving the whole time.

The Gujarat Titans scored a lot of runs, and the stand against CSK’s bowling attack, which is one of the more experienced ones in the competition, showed that the two could handle high-pressure situations as well.

Suggested Read:Top Record-Breaking Innings in IPL History

5. Shaun Marsh & Adam Gilchrist – 206 (Kings XI Punjab vs RCB, 2011)

This partnership from 2011 still holds up as one of the more underrated big stands in IPL records. Gilchrist scored 106 off 55 balls, his explosive style giving KXIP an electric start. Marsh added 79 off 49, playing the steadier role of the two. KXIP posted 232 and won by 11 runs at Dharamsala.

What makes this stand notable is the venue. Dharamsala is not traditionally associated with flat-track records. The altitude and conditions there tend to assist pace. That two batters still managed 206 in those conditions makes the innings more impressive in context.

6. Shubman Gill & B. Sai Sudharsan – 205* (GT vs DC, 2025)

Back-to-back seasons, two 200-plus stands. Gill and Sudharsan became only the second pair after Kohli and de Villiers to appear twice in the top 10, and they did it in consecutive IPL editions. Their 205-run unbeaten opening stand against Delhi Capitals on 18 May 2025 confirmed that this is now a settled and dangerous partnership at the top of the Gujarat Titans’ order.

The fact that both their stands are at the top of the order, and both feature in the top six of all time, puts the question of whether they can eventually challenge Kohli and de Villiers’ 229 firmly on the table.

7. Virat Kohli & Chris Gayle – 204* (RCB vs Delhi Daredevils, 2012)

Gayle and Kohli combined for 204 unbeaten runs against Delhi Daredevils in 2012, with Gayle producing one of his most devastating T20 innings. He scored 128* off 62 balls. Kohli scored 73* off 53, the anchor of the stand, even while batting alongside one of cricket’s most aggressive hitters. RCB reached 215/1 and won comfortably.

This innings gave Kohli three separate appearances in the top 10 IPL partnerships list, a record no other batter has matched.

8. David Warner & Naman Ojha – 189* (Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers, 2012)

Warner’s first major IPL partnership entry came alongside Naman Ojha in 2012 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Warner scored 109* off 54 balls. Ojha contributed 64* off 46. Delhi posted 188/1 and won by eight wickets. The partnership put the match entirely beyond the Deccan Chargers’ reach by the midpoint of the innings.

9. Jonny Bairstow & David Warner – 185 (SRH vs RCB, 2019)

Warner’s second entry in the top 10, this time with Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Bairstow scored 114 off 56 balls. Warner added 100 off 55. SRH posted 231 and won by 118 runs. The opening stand that evening was as complete an example of two openers complementing each other in T20 cricket as IPL has produced.

10. Chris Lynn & Gautam Gambhir – 184* (KKR vs Gujarat Lions, 2017)

Lynn scored 93 off 41 balls in a stand that took the match away from the Gujarat Lions before the halfway point of the chase. Gambhir played a measured 76* off 48, anchoring while Lynn attacked. KKR completed the chase in 14.5 overs. The unbeaten opening stand remains the highest for KKR in IPL history.

Highest Partnerships by Wicket Order

Key Patterns Across IPL’s Biggest Partnerships

RCB dominate the record books. Four of the top ten partnerships belong to Royal Challengers Bangalore, and three of those four involve Virat Kohli. No other franchise comes close to that level of concentration in the top 10.

Overseas and Indian combinations are the norm. Eight of the top ten stands feature one overseas batter alongside an Indian. The Kohli-de Villiers pair, Rahul-de Kock, Warner-Ojha, Warner-Bairstow, Lynn-Gambhir, and Gayle-Kohli all follow this pattern. Only Gill-Sudharsan (both Indian) and Marsh-Gilchrist (both Australian) break it.

Six of the top ten were unbeaten. That means in more than half of these records, neither batter was dismissed. That signals not just dominance but an ability to control entire innings without giving up a wicket.

Gill and Sudharsan are building something. Two 200-plus partnerships in 2024 and 2025 put them in rare company. If they stay together at GT and the form continues, the 229 record is within a realistic range.

Next Tier: Partnerships 11 to 20

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