IPL: 6 highest partnerships by an Indian pair
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most followed T20 franchise tournament in the world. Partnerships are the building blocks of a substantial team total in any form of cricket, and it is much the same in the IPL as well.
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers hold the record for the highest partnership in the history of the IPL. The duo put together 229 runs for the 2nd wicket for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against the Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016.
Let us take a look at the 6 highest partnerships by an Indian pair in the history of the IPL.
Highest IPL partnerships by an Indian pair
#T5: Parthiv Patel and Ambati Rayudu - 137 runs
Parthiv Patel and Ambati Rayudu hold the joint-fifth spot in the list of highest partnerships by an Indian pair in the IPL. The duo strung together a 137-run partnership for the 2nd wicket for the Mumbai Indians (MI) against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in IPL 2016.
David Miller, the KXIP captain, won the toss and opted to field first at their home ground, in the ninth season of the IPL. The visiting team got off to a disastrous start, losing their captain Rohit Sharma off the second delivery of the innings with no runs on the board.
Rayudu joined Patel in the middle at the fall of Sharma's wicket. After playing out the 1st over cautiously, the latter took the attack to Mitchell Johnson in the next over, striking him for two fours.
The duo concentrated on rotating the strike as MI reached a score of 25/1 at the end of the 5th over. Johnson was again on the receiving end as the pair struck three boundaries in his second over, utilising the field restrictions in the last over of the powerplay.
Patel and Rayudu kept up the scoring rate post the powerplay as well, striking a four or a six in each of the next 5 overs. They were helped in this cause by the KXIP fielding, with Axar Patel putting down a sitter.
The pair became even more aggressive after the 11th over, with a couple of boundaries coming in each of the next 3 overs. The dropped catch by Axar Patel proved costly as the beneficiary, Rayudu, struck him for a maximum and a four off consecutive deliveries in the 12th over.
It was then Parthiv Patel's turn to go on the attack as he struck two fours off consecutive deliveries in the next over bowled by Mohit Sharma. Johnson's return to the attack did not produce the desired results as he was again smashed for two fours by the diminutive wicket-keeper.
Axar Patel finally got the breakthrough, having Rayudu caught at deep mid-wicket with the third ball of his final over, but not before the Hyderabad batsman had struck him for two sixes off the first 2 deliveries of the over.
By the time Rayudu was dismissed after scoring 65 runs off 37 deliveries, the duo had put together 137 runs for the second wicket, to help the Mumbai team recover from the early loss of Sharma's wicket.
Patel carried on the good work before he was finally dismissed by Johnson in the 19th over. The left-hander contributed 81 runs off 58 deliveries in MI's final score of 189/6 in their allotted 20 overs.
Despite the best efforts of Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Miller, KXIP was restricted to a score of 164/7, thereby losing the match by 25 runs.
#T5: Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina - 137* runs
Murali Vijay and Suresh Raina are the other Indian pair in the joint-fifth position in the list of highest partnerships in the IPL. The duo added an unbeaten 137 runs for the 2nd wicket for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2010.
Sourav Ganguly, the KKR captain, won the toss and elected to bat first at Chepauk in the third season of the IPL. But the decision backfired, as the Kolkata franchise was restricted to a score of 139/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
CSK also did not have a great start, as they lost Matthew Hayden for a duck off the third delivery of the chase. Vijay was then joined by Raina in the middle.
While Vijay was intent on just rotating the strike, Raina took on the aggressor's role. The left-hander was particularly severe on Ashok Dinda, smashing him for 5 fours in 2 overs.
Chris Gayle wasn't spared either as Raina struck 3 boundaries off consecutive deliveries in the 5th over. At the end of the powerplay, CSK had reached a score of 67/1 with Vijay contributing only nine of those runs.
The Uttar Pradesh batsman was in no mood to relent even after the powerplay, with a boundary or two coming in almost every over. The Chennai-based team reached a score of 103/1 at the end of 10 overs, requiring just 37 runs off the remaining 10 overs.
With the victory almost assured, it was Vijay's turn to press the accelerator. He struck a six and a couple of fours in the 11th over bowled by David Hussey. This was followed by a boundary and a six in the next 2 overs.
Raina finished off the match with a mighty six off the third delivery of the 14th over. He finished with an unbeaten 78 off just 39 balls, while Vijay contributed a more sedate 50 runs off 40 deliveries.
Their unbeaten 137-run partnership helped CSK romp home to an easy victory by 9 wickets, with 39 balls to spare. The win helped the Chennai franchise climb from the sixth to the second position in the IPL 2010 points table.
#4: Suresh Raina and Subramaniam Badrinath - 142* runs
Raina was also involved in the 4th highest partnership by an Indian pair in the history of the IPL. He and Subramaniam Badrinath put together an unbeaten 142 runs for the 3rd wicket for CSK against MI in IPL 2010.
Sachin Tendulkar, the MI skipper, won the toss and put CSK in to bat at the Brabourne Stadium in the third season of the IPL. Badrinath joined Raina in the middle after the Chennai team was reduced to 38/2 at the end of the 5th over, with Parthiv Patel and Hayden back in the hut.
Raina, CSK's top run-getter in the IPL, seemed unperturbed by the loss of the 2 wickets. He greeted Dwayne Bravo with a six and a four off the first 2 balls of the 6th over.
Badrinath played the sheet anchor's role to perfection, manoeuvring the balls for singles and doubles, with an odd boundary in between. Raina was his attacking self, going for big hits now and then, with a particular liking for Bravo.
Ryan McLaren and Harbhajan Singh were the only bowlers to apply the brakes on the scoring rate, as even Lasith Malinga (the IPL's leading wicket-taker) and Zaheer Khan were taken to the cleaners.
Raina finished with an unbeaten 83 off just 52 deliveries, while Badrinath contributed 55 runs off 45 balls. Their unbroken 142-run partnership helped CSK reach a score of 180/2 in their allotted 20 overs.
Unfortunately this partnership went in vain, as the most successful team in the history of the IPL chased down the target with 5 wickets in hand and an over to spare.
#3: Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant - 143 runs
Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant occupy the 3rd spot in the list of highest partnerships by an Indian pair in the IPL. The young duo stitched together a partnership of 143 runs for the 2nd wicket for the Delhi Capitals (DC) against the Gujarat Lions in IPL 2017.
Karun Nair, the DC captain, won the toss and opted to field first at the Kotla in the 10th season of the IPL. The decision seemed to have backfired as the Gujarat Lions posted a mammoth total of 208/7 on the board.
Chasing 209 runs for victory, the Delhi-based team lost their captain in the third over for an individual score of 12 runs. This brought the dynamic duo of Samson and Pant together at the crease, with no option but to attack from the word go.
Pant and Samson showed their intentions by striking a six each in the 4th over bowled by Basil Thampi. The former struck 2 sixes and a four off the first 3 balls of the next over delivered by Pradeep Sangwan.
The duo continued with the same momentum, striking a six or two in every over thereafter. At the end of the 10th over, the Delhi team had reached a score of 113/1, needing another 96 runs in the second half of the innings.
The left-right combination swung the match the home team's way in the next couple of overs. Pant clobbered 3 sixes and a four in the 11th over bowled by James Faulkner. Not to be left behind, Samson hit Ravindra Jadeja for a couple of sixes in the following over.
Jadeja had his revenge in his next over, having Samson caught by Faulkner at long-off after having scored 61 runs off just 31 deliveries. But by then the damage had already been done, with DC requiring just 42 runs off the remaining 40 deliveries.
Pant continued the assault before he was dismissed three short of a hundred, caught behind off Thampi. His 97 runs off only 43 deliveries and the 143-run partnership with Samson helped the Capitals register an easy 7-wicket victory, with 15 balls to spare.
The talented duo helped the Delhi team pull off the second-highest chase in the history of the IPL.
#2: Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey - 145* runs
Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa have to their name the second-highest partnership between an Indian pair in the IPL. The Karnataka duo added an unbeaten 145 runs for the 3rd wicket for the Pune Warriors against the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) in IPL 2012.
Sourav Ganguly, the Pune skipper, won the toss and opted to bat first at their home ground in the fifth season of the IPL. But the home team was straightaway on the backfoot, after losing Jesse Ryder and the captain himself in the first couple of overs.
The onus was then on the pair of Pandey and Uthappa to resurrect the innings. The duo went about the repair job cautiously with Uthappa, the top run-scorer for the franchise in the IPL, looking slightly out of touch.
The Pune outfit's score read 28/2 at the end of the powerplay. Although Uthappa struck a couple of boundaries in the 7th over bowled by Pawan Negi, he was back in his shell soon after.
The Pune Warriors had only scored 53 runs at the end of the 11th over. Pandey tried to accelerate the scoring from then on, striking a few boundaries, but the run rate never assumed dangerous proportions.
The Pandey-Uthappa pair added 93 runs in the last 9 overs, but the Pune Warriors still ended up with a below-par score of 146/2 in their allotted 20 overs. While Pandey's unbeaten 80-run knock had come off 56 deliveries, Uthappa had consumed 58 balls for his 60 runs.
The Delhi Capitals easily chased down the target, with 8 wickets in hand and 4 overs to spare. The painstaking 145-run partnership between Pandey and Uthappa thus went in vain.
#1: Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa - 158 runs
Gautam Gambhir and Uthappa hold the distinction of the highest partnership by an Indian pair in the IPL. The duo joined forces to put on 158 runs for the 2nd wicket for KKR against the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in IPL 2017.
Gambhir, the KKR captain, won the toss and put the home team in to bat in the 10th season of the IPL. Batting first, RPS posted an imposing score of 182/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing a difficult target, KKR lost Sunil Narine in the third over of their innings. This brought Gambhir and Uthappa, the top two run-getters for KKR in the history of the IPL, together at the crease.
The duo ensured that the required run rate was always under control, striking at least a boundary in each of the remaining powerplay overs. The Kolkata outfit reached a score of 45/1 at the end of 6 overs, requiring another 138 runs off 84 deliveries.
With the asking rate reaching almost 10 runs an over, the pair had no option but to go on the offensive. The next 4 overs yielded 56 runs as the ball flew to all corners of the field.
Uthappa was the more aggressive of the duo, smashing Washington Sundar for 2 sixes and a four off consecutive deliveries. He reached his half-century off just 26 deliveries, as KKR reached 101/1 at the end of the 10th over, needing 82 runs off the last 60 balls.
The pair did not slacken one bit as the next 6 overs yielded 72 runs. Imran Tahir bore the brunt of their attack as he conceded 48 runs off his 4 overs.
Uthappa was dismissed with KKR needing 5 runs for victory, but he had played his part to perfection, smashing 87 runs off just 47 deliveries. His swashbuckling knock included 6 massive sixes and 7 fours.
Gambhir too followed his partner to the dugout, with the addition of just one more run to the score. His 62 runs had come off 46 balls and had proved a perfect foil to the more aggressive Uthappa, as their 158-runs partnership helped KKR register a 7-wicket victory.