Even as Virat Kohli scored a rather scratchy half-century in the IPL 2026 clash against the Mumbai Indians on April 12, Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium, the right-handed batter crossed a huge record. The former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain is now involved in most 100-run partnerships in T20 cricket, surpassing Chris Gayle and Babar Azam.
IPL 2026: Who did Virat Kohli share a 100-run partnership with in the MI vs RCB match?
The 37-year-old, who is the leading run-getter in IPL history, added 120 runs off only 65 deliveries with Phil Salt against the Mumbai Indians at the raucous atmosphere of the Wankhede Stadium. With Salt finding form after three lean matches, the Englishman hammered six boundaries and as many maximums in his 36-ball 78, providing the defending champions a very brisk start to their innings. Before this game, Kohli was tied with Gayle and Babar to be involved in 46 century partnerships in the shortest format. Nevertheless, the Delhi-born cricketer has left the duo behind to climb to the top. Additionally, the star cricketer became the first batter to score 1000 runs against the Mumbai Indians.
However, Kohli notably failed to sustain the momentum that he desired in the innings before being dismissed by opposing captain Hardik Pandya.
Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar blast the Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 240 against Mumbai Indians
While Salt was their early enforcer, Rajat Patidar, who walked out after the 28-year-old’s dismissal, went hard from the outset, allowing no respite for the home side. The veteran cricketer was 33 off 8 at one stage and got to his half-century only in 17 deliveries, making it the second-fastest half-century by an RCB batter. Patidar was dismissed by Mitchell Santer for a 20-ball 53.
While the Mumbai Indians had strung some good overs towards the end, Tim David finished the innings with a six to take the Royal Challengers to 240/4 in their stipulated 20 overs. At the time of writing this, the Mumbai Indians had lost Tilak Varma (1) and Ryan Rickelton (37), while Rohit Sharma walked off due to an injured hamstring. The required rate remains the north of 13.
