IPL 2020: Kohli, de Villiers second pair in IPL to this record as CSK defeat RCB by 8 wickets

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) duo of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers claimed a record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during their side's eight-wicket loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday.

Having won the toss at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, RCB opted to bat. Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal led RCB to a decent start. They put up 38 runs for the opening wicket before the Australian batsman got out in 3.5 overs. Sam Curran got rid of Finch, who scored an 11-ball 15, including three boundaries. A few overs later, Mitchell Santner removed Padikkal, thanks to brilliant teamwork by Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad at the boundary.

The dismissal of Padikkal, who got out for 22 from 21 balls, brought de Villiers and Kohli together at the crease. The two hold several partnership records, having been RCB teammates since 2011, including the highest stand. Their 229-run and unbeaten 215-run stands are at the top two of the lists of highest partnerships in the IPL. The RCB pair shared an 82-run stand for the third wicket on Sunday before CSK bowler Deepak Chahar made the breakthrough with the wicket of de Villiers.

It was Kohli-de Villiers' 21st 50-plus stand in the IPL and with that, the pair equalled Kohli and Chris Gayle's record of 21 partnerships of 50-plus scores. In terms of the number of runs put together, de Villiers and Kohli (3,129 runs) are anyway well ahead of Kohli and Gayle (2,787 runs). Next in the list are Shikhar Dhawan-David Warner, who had shared 20 50 runs-plus stands, while the two had scored 2,357 runs together for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Kohli registered his IPL career's 39th half-century as he helped RCB to score 145 for 6 in 20 overs on Sunday. However, his effort went in vain as the three-time champions CSK chased down the target in 18.4 overs. CSK's opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had been struggling to find form before the match, played a Player of the Match knock of unbeaten 65 from 51 deliveries.

Speaking at the post-match interview, the 23-year-old Ruturaj said," It feels good, and to win the game for the team and stay not-out till the end, more importantly, feels better than the personal milestone. It was tough for me, quarantining for a lot more days compared to the other guys.

Everyone was with me - my friends, family. I was practicing well and I knew one good knock was just around the corner. Unfortunately, just got out in three matches, but the management supported me including Mahi Bhai. The wicket was slow. I was proactive out there, calculating which bowler to target and whom to not, and it worked out well for me."

With four wins in 12 matches, CSK have eight points and are placed seventh in the IPL 2020 table. Dhoni's CSK next face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Dubai on Thursday, while their final group stage match is against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 1.