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When AB De Villiers And Virat Kohli Leathered Gujarat With A Record T20 Stand In IPL 2016

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in IPL 2016 [Source: IPLT20.COM]AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in IPL 2016 [Source: IPLT20.COM]

Former South African captain AB de Villiers was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame on October 16. Celebrating the special occasion, de Villiers’ ex-RCB teammate Virat Kohli penned a heartfelt tribute for the legendary Proteas batter by acknowledging his unique impact on the game.

Both cricketers shared numerous remarkable moments for the RCB franchise during their playing days together in IPL. As AB de Villiers celebrates his unique ICC feat, here we take a look back at the time when the dashing South African batter scripted a world-record T20 partnership with Virat Kohli back during IPL 2016.

When AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli shattered Gujarat Lions

Virat Kohli-led RCB took on Gujarat Lions in Bengaluru in match number 44 of the IPL 2016 season. Being invited to bat first, the hosts lost blistering opener Chris Gayle to Dhawal Kulkarni in just the fourth over of the match.

Batting at number three, AB de Villiers joined his skipper and unbeaten opener Virat Kohli at the crease at 19-1. The two cricketers ended up blasting 229 runs together for the second wicket from just 16 overs, with both plundering raging centuries from their ends. The partnership continues to remain the highest for any wicket in IPL history, and the third-highest overall across all T20 cricket.

AB de Villiers launched ten boundaries and twelve sixes to smear 129 unbeaten runs from just 52 deliveries, while Virat Kohli leathered the likes of Praveen Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo with 109 from 55 balls.

Their collective belligerence catapulted the RCB total to a monumental 248-3 from 20 overs. In response, Gujarat Lions line-up failed to keep up with the chase as they fell 144 runs short of the target. Chris Jordan headlined RCB’s attack with the ball by picking up four wickets for just 11 runs in three overs, and ace spinner Yuzvendra Chahal struck thrice in his economical four-over spell.