Ayush Badoni, Arshad Khan forge IPL record with highest eighth-wicket partnership

Match 26 of the Indian Premier League 2024 witnessed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) facing off against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on April 12. KL Rahul, LSG skipper, won the toss and opted to bat first at the ground known for its favourable batting conditions.

Rahul's decision appeared hapless as they encountered early setbacks, losing the wickets of Quinton de Kock and Devdutt Padikkal inside the first five overs, leaving them at 41/2. The LSG captain then attempted to build a crucial partnership with Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis. However, Kuldeep Yadav wrecked their plans by dismissing Stoinis with a full and outside-off delivery on the third delivery of the eighth over. 

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The in-form Kuldeep provided another breakthrough for his side in the consecutive delivery, earning the prized scalp of big hitter Nicholas Pooran. The star Indian wrist spinner struck again in the 10th over, removing Rahul, who had seemed settled but departed after scoring 39 runs.

Following the departure of the LSG captain, the 2022 debutants found themselves in a dire situation at 77/5, with Delhi taking total control. Deepak Hooda, who came in as an Impact Player left the field without any impact in the game. Nonetheless, Ayush Badoni provided a sigh of hope for his side upon coming to bat at No. 7.

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Badoni played a crucial half-century and forged an unbeaten 73-run stand off 42 deliveries for the eighth wicket with Arshad Khan, establishing an IPL record. Notably, this partnership marked the highest eighth-wicket stand in the history of the world's wealthiest cricket tournament. Badoni and Arshad remained unbeaten until the end of the first innings, with scores of 55 and 20 respectively, pushing Lucknow to a reasonable total of 167 runs.

The new record set by Badoni and Arshad surpassed Brad Hodge and James Faulkner's partnership of 69 runs off 41 balls against Mumbai Indians in Ahmedabad in 2014. In addition, in the previous season, Heinrich Klaasen and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's partnership of 68 runs off 47 balls against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, and Rinku Singh-Umesh Yadav's unbeaten 52 runs off 21 balls against the same team are also ranked in the top 5 of the list.