Batting partnerships are the foundation of cricket, representing the shared effort of two batsmen to score runs, control the flow of the game, and build momentum. They are crucial for stabilising innings, releasing pressure, setting match-winning totals, and leading successful run chases. Although in recent years IPL has become all about aggressive hitting and with full intent, a classic partnership never goes out of fashion.
Over the years, there have been a lot of iconic seasons and players whose partnerships and innings are still remembered and used as examples. In the Indian Premier League, the highest-ever partnership is a mammoth 229 runs by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2016. The highest opening stand is 210 unbeaten runs by KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock for Lucknow Super Giants in 2022. The highest partnership aggregates in a single IPL edition are shared by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers with 939 runs in 2016 and Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis with 939 runs in 2023 as the top two amongst others.
Top five highest partnership aggregates in an IPL edition
The table below shows the best aggregate partnerships in an IPL edition:
| Players | Runs | Team | Year |
| Virat Kohli & AB de Villiers | 939 | RCB | 2016 |
| Virat Kohli & Faf du Plessis | 939 | RCB | 2023 |
| Sai Sudharsan & Shubman Gill | 912 | GT | 2025 |
| Sai Sudharsan & Shubman Gill | 886 | GT | 2026 |
| Devon Conway & Ruturaj Gaikwad | 849 | CSK | 2023 |
Virat Kohli & AB de Villiers (939 runs, RCB)
The partnership between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers during the 2016 IPL season for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru is widely considered one of the most dominant and iconic periods in T20 cricket history. Throughout the 2016 season, the duo registered several massive partnerships, with their crowning achievement being a record-breaking 229-run stand against the Gujarat Lions on May 14, 2016. The other partnerships of the duo were 157 against SRH, 112 against KKR and 115 against Gujarat Lions in the same season.
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Virat Kohli & Faf du Plessis( 939, RCB)
In the 2023 IPL season, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis stitched the most successful opening pair in the tournament’s history. Across 14 innings, they amassed 939 partnership runs at an average of 67.70, hitting three centuries and five half-centuries. They put on a masterclass 172-run stand in May 2023, where Kohli scored his sixth IPL century and du Plessis scored a crucial half-century to keep RCB in the playoffs.
Sai Sudharsan & Shubman Gill (912, GT)
In the 2025 IPL, Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan formed the most destructive batting pair. The Gujarat Titans openers scored 912 runs together across 15 innings, featuring a scoring rate of 9.56 runs per over, three century stands, and seven fifty-plus partnerships, making them the highest-scoring pair of the season.
Sai Sudharsan & Shubman Gill (886, GT)
Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan formed the most dominant opening partnership in IPL 2026, scripting a world record for the most century partnerships (11) in men’s T20 cricket history. They amassed 886 runs in just 15 innings together, powering the Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2026 finals.
Devon Conway & Ruturaj Gaikwad (849, CSK)
Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad formed the most prolific opening pair in IPL 2023, amassing 849 runs together across the season. This set a record for the most runs by a CSK pair in a single season. Their left-right combination was the backbone of Chennai Super Kings’ fifth title-winning campaign.
