KL Rahul-Nitish Rana partnership breaks 11-year-old Virat Kohli-AB de Villiers IPL record in PBKS demolition

TL;DR

KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 152 and Nitish Rana added 91, leading to a record 220-run partnership for Delhi Capitals against Punjab Kings in IPL 2026. This partnership breaks the 11-year-old record set by Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.

Key points

KL Rahul scored an unbeaten 152 runs.
Nitish Rana contributed 91 runs.
The partnership totaled 220 runs.
This breaks the record set by Kohli and de Villiers.
Rahul's score is the highest by an Indian in IPL history.

KL RahulNitish RanaDelhi CapitalsPunjab Kings

KL Rahul played the innings of his IPL career on Saturday, scoring an unbeaten 152 as Delhi Capitals posted 264 for 2 against Punjab Kings in IPL 2026 match in Delhi. His knock became the highest score by an Indian batter in IPL history.

Nitish Rana also made full use of Punjab Kings’ bowling, scoring 91, as the two put together a record 220-run partnership for Delhi Capitals after the team chose to bat first.

Playing in the afternoon heat, Rahul and Rana added 220 runs for the second wicket in just 96 balls. It is the highest partnership for Delhi Capitals in IPL history and the second-highest stand for any wicket in the league.

Rahul reached his sixth IPL hundred with 14 fours and nine sixes. His unbeaten 152 is also the third-highest individual score in IPL history.

Only Chris Gayle’s 175 and Brendon McCullum’s 158 are ahead of him now.

The innings could have ended much earlier for Rahul. Punjab Kings dropped him first when he was on 12, with Shashank Singh missing the chance. He was dropped again on 51, but PBKS could not stop him from turning it into a record knock.

Delhi fans watched one of Rahul’s best innings as he looked in control from the start. Pathum Nissanka got out early, but Nitish Rana then joined Rahul and the game changed.

The two batters matched each other shot for shot, with Punjab’s bowlers unable to slow them down as the scoring rate kept rising.

Their 220-run stand now sits second on the list of highest partnerships in IPL history for any wicket.

The record still belongs to AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, who added 229 runs for RCB against Gujarat Lions in Bengaluru in 2016.

Rahul and Rana’s stand moved past the unbeaten 215-run stand by de Villiers and Kohli against Mumbai Indians in 2015, the 210-run partnership between Rahul and Quinton de Kock against KKR in 2022, and the 210-run stand by Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill against CSK in 2024.

Highest partnerships in the IPL (any wicket)