Most Runs As Opening Pair In IPL: Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis Enter Top 10, Dominate Single Edition List

Royal Challengers Bangalore openers Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis breached the 1000-run mark and into the top 10 as opening pair in Indian Premier League (IPL) history on Thursday (May 18).

The Kohli-Du Plessis pair achieved the feat after the duo shared a 172-run stand, the eighth highest opening partnership in IPL history, during RCB's 8-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

The RCB duo have been in terrific form since they forged the partnership in 2022. However, they are still far away from reaching the top of the ladder as Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner own the record for most runs by an opening pair in IPL.

Dhawan-Warner pair shared over 2000 runs as opening partners when they represented Sunrisers Hyderabad from seasons 2014 to 2017. They are followed by a formidable partnership of former Kolkata Knight Riders openers Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa.

Dhawan and Warner have also been involved in partnerships with different pair across their careers in IPL. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal also shared great stands during their stint at Punjab Kings. Here is a look at the top opening pairs with most runs in IPL.

Most Runs as Opening Partners in IPL

Pair	Team(s)	Innings	Runs	100+ Stands
Shikhar Dhawan & David Warner	SRH	48	2220	6
Gautam Gambhir & Robin Uthappa	KKR	39	1478	3
Shikhar Dhawan & Prithvi Shaw	DC	44	1461	2
Jonny Bairstow & David Warner	SRH	24	1401	5
Mayank Agarwal & KL Rahul	PBKS	24	1363	4
Brendon McCullum & Dwayne Smith	GL	38	1363	3
Mike Hussey & Murali Vijay	CSK	34	1360	2
Quinton de Kock & Rohit Sharma	MI	37	1269	0
Faf Du Plessis & Virat Kohli	RCB	24	1250	4
Chris Gayle & Virat Kohli	RCB	28	1210	4
Ruturaj Gaikwad & Devon Conway	CSK	22	1208	4
Chris Gayle & KL Rahul	RCB & PBKS	26	1073	3
Rohit Sharma & Ishan Kishan	MI	31	1066	0
Shubman Gill & Wriddhiman Saha	GT	30	998	2
Jos Buttler & Yashasvi Jaiswal	RR	29	946	0
Rahul Dravid & Ajinkya Rahane	RR	26	933	1

Kohli and Du Plessis pair also breached the record for most runs as a pair in a single season during their partnership against SRH in IPL 2023 match 65 on Thursday (May 18) in Hyderabad.

The RCB duo eclipsed the former SRH pair Warner and Jonny Bairstow's stand of 791 runs with their opening wicket partnership of 172 to reach the most runs as partners in a single season. Here is a look at most runs by opening pair in single IPL edition.

Most Runs by an opening pair in single IPL season

Pair	Team	Innings	Runs	100+ Stands	Year
Virat Kohli & Faf Du Plessis	RCB	14	939	3	2023
Jonny Bairstow & David Warner	SRH	10	791	4	2019
Faf Du Plessis & Ruturaj Gaikwad	CSK	16	756	2	2021
Shikhar Dhawan & Prithvi Shaw	DC	15	744	2	2021
Shikhar Dhawan & David Warner	SRH	17	731	1	2016

The RCB duo also dominate the list as best opening pair for the ongoing season with the likes of Jos Buttler-Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad-Devon Conway pairs also amassing over 500 runs as partners in IPL 2023.