Highest Opening Partnership: In the history of the Indian T20 League, the opening pair of Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) scored the most significant stand for the 1st wicket ever registered. It’s the first occasion in the history of the Indian Premier League that an opening duo continued undefeated after a side batted first and finished all 20 overs.
Quinton de Kock scored an undefeated 140 off 70 deliveries and KL Rahul slammed 68 not out during their match versus Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday. Together, they created a new mark for the Indian Premier League with their 210-run partnership in 20 overs. This is currently the 2nd best stand for any wicket in the IPL, making it the 3rd best-undefeated stand in the tournament’s history any wicket.
Jonny Bairstow and David Warner’s beginning stand of 185 runs for Hyderabad versus Bangalore in 2019 set a new record for the best opening combo in the history of the IPL. In their match versus Gujarat Lions in 2017, the first wicket partnership of Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn for Kolkata scored 183 runs.
When KL Rahul was playing for the Punjab Kings against the Rajasthan Royals in the year 2020, he contributed 183 runs to the score alongside Mayank Agarwal, which is currently the 4th best opening partnership.
The partnership involving de Kock and Rahul on Wednesday was a feast for the eyes of decision-makers. Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, both of whom were at the KKR squad when the aftermath took place, seemed to have the best individual scores in the IPL, whereas de Kock earned the 3rd best individual mark.
Meantime, KL Rahul has become the 3rd Indian player, following in the footsteps of Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, to score more than 500 runs in several editions of the IPL. However, in contrast to Kohli and Dhawan, Rahul accomplished this record in five consecutive years.
“Good learning for us. Wins like these help to keep the team together. I was a spectator today in the last few overs. He (De Kock) was striking the ball so crisply and cleanly. What we lacked in some of the games were that the guys who were having good days weren’t winning us games”, said KL Rahul.
