Top 5 Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers partnerships in IPL history

The duo of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers has been the biggest X-factor in the Royal Challengers Bangalore's run in the history of the Indian Premier League.

It's like having Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the same team. Kohli and De Villiers have been playing together for RCB for the past seven years.

Although the team has never won an IPL trophy, still these two have managed to win the hearts of millions of cricket lovers. The class that both batsmen own is just remarkable.

This Indo-African pair has several things in common. Both of them have the ability to strike the ball from the moment their innings get underway.

Needless to say that they are brilliant when it comes to running between the wickets. More than often, we have seen them converting ones into twos and twos into threes.

Also, this pair can hit the ball into gaps and hit those mighty sixes at will.

On the occasions when their former champion player, Chris Gayle failed to deliver, this magnificent duo has come to rescue of the team.

In the past, both Kohli and De Villiers have proven why they are among the best players in this format. They complement each other to a great extent.

They hold the record for highest partnership in the IPL history of 229 runs against the Gujarat Lions in 2016.

Here's a throwback to some of their best partnerships during their IPL journey:

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#5 RCB v DD, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, 17th April 2016: 107-run stand

The effort ended in a losing cause

When Gayle failed to open his account, nobody expected to see such an onslaught at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

De Villiers came one down, and then both Kohli and the South African were not just then involved in their individual stand, but also together worked hard enough to steer RCB towards the challenging total of 191 runs.

The duo put up a stand of 107 runs for the second wicket, in which Virat scored 79 off 48 deliveries and ABD managed to score a quick 55 off just 33 balls.

The effort ended in a losing cause, courtesy of Delhi Daredevils' opening batsman Quinton De Kock who scored his first IPL century in the game.

#4 KKR v RCB, Eden Gardens, 16th May 2016: 115-run stand

The duo helped RCB chase down the target with an over to spare

This 48th match of 2016 IPL edition was an outstanding one. KKR had put up a target of 184 runs for the visiting team.

Gayle got off to a good start and managed to score 49 runs before he was dismissed. But the KKR could not celebrate this wicket for long, as the duo of Kohli and AB proved to too hot for the home team.

They together put up an unbeatable partnership of 115 runs, chasing down the score with more than an over to spare.

Kohli scored 79 runs, while De Villiers also managed to score 59 runs with the bat.

#3 RCB v SRH, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, 12th April 2016: 157-run stand

This effort came against a strong Sunrisers bowling line-up

Put into bat by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, RCB failed to have a good start as Gayle fell with the score at six.

The South African batsman came in next to join the Indian captain, and then what the crowd saw was remarkable.

They shared a breathtaking 157-run stand off just 87 balls and helped the team to reach a mighty total of 227 runs against a great Sunrisers bowling line-up.

Kohli scored 75 runs, while De Villiers made 82 runs off just 42 balls. The South African was also awarded the Man of the Match for his splendid innings.

#2 MI v RCB, Wankhede, 10th May 2015: 215-run stand

De Villiers scored his second IPL hundred in this match

In this match, Kohli and De Villiers completely destroyed the bowling attack of the Mumbai Indians.

Batting first, RCB lost Gayle when the scoreboard read just 20. But then came a storm at the Wankhede.

Both De Villiers and Kohli scored along each part of the ground. They thrashed every Mumbai bowler out of the park. The duo put on an unbeaten stand of 215 runs and helped RCB to put a target of 236 runs for the host Mumbai.

De Villiers slammed his second Indian Premier League century and scored the match-winning 133 runs while Kohli remained unbeaten on 82.

#1 RCB v GL, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, 14th May 2016: 229-run stand

Kohli and de Villiers hit 20 sixes in this match

In this Go Green match against Gujarat, the duo broke their own record of 215 runs partnership.

It stands to be the highest run partnership for any wicket in the IPL history. During their marathon run, they hit 20 huge sixes together and gave no chance to the bowlers whatsoever. RCB went on to score a mammoth score of 248 runs.

Interestingly, it was the first instance where two batsmen had scored centuries in an IPL game. Kohli struck 109 at an impressive strike rate of 198, while De Villiers hit 129 runs at a destructive strike rate of 248. RCB went to win by a huge margin of 144 runs.