OTD 2016: AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli put on a record-breaking 229-run partnership against Gujarat Lions

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team might not have got their hands on the IPL title yet, they have surely set some incredible records throughout the years. One of the iconic records was set on May 14, 2016 when the Men in Red were up against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions (GL).

It was the Lions who won the toss and elected to field first at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and though the game started with an early wicket of Chris Gayle, the celebration of the first wicket was the only joy for quite some time as the partnership between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers flourished.

The Indo-South African duo put on a humongous partnership of 229 off just 97 deliveries for the second wicket. This is still the highest partnership in IPL history, which also ensured the Bengaluru franchise went on to put up a massive score of 248 on the board. Both batters brought up their centuries as Virat went on to score 109 off just 55 deliveries while De Villiers remained unbeaten on a score of 129 off 52 deliveries.

While the RCB innings was full of big hits and entertainment, the same could not be said about the Gujarat Lions in the second innings. The side eventually got bundled out for just 104 runs and lost by a margin of 144 runs in the end. The pick of the bowlers for RCB in this match were Chris Jordan (4/11 in three overs) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/19 in four overs). 

IPL 2016: a season to remember for ABD-Virat and RCB

The game against the Lions was one of the best highlights of a terrific season for the RCB franchise and their two legends. RCB finished second on the points table with eight wins and six losses and made it to their third IPL final that season, which they eventually lost to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Virat and AB de Villiers were among the top run scorers of the tournament, with the Delhi batter winning the Orange Cap, scoring 973 runs in the 16 games he played at an average of 81.08. This is still the most runs scored by a batter in any single IPL season. De Villiers also had a great run with the bat, scoring 687 runs in 16 games at an average of 52.84.