Twitter explodes after LSG's KL Rahul, De Kock smash biggest opening stand in IPL history

Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) captain KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock posted the highest opening partnership in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with an unbeaten 210-run stand against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Navi Mumbai's DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday.

While the South African smashed 140 not out off 70 balls, the Indian cricketing star scored a solid fifty (68 not out off 51) to post a massive total against Kolkata in the 66th match of the IPL 2022.

Both De Kock and Rahul remained not out till the last ball of the Lucknow innings and did not show any mercy on KKK bowlers. Notably, for the first time, a team has batted the entire 20 overs in the history of the T20 league without losing a wicket.

Additionally, de Kock's unbeaten 140 is now the third-highest individual score in the league after Chris Gayle's 175* (vs Pune Warriors India in 2013) and Brendon McCullum's 158* (vs RCB in 2008).

Tim Southee (0/57) was the most expensive bowler for Kolkata, while the likes of Andre Russell (0/45) and Varun Chakravarthy (0/38) were also not far behind in conceding runs.

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The duo went past Sunrisers Hyderabad's Jonny Bairstow and David Warner's 185-run stand, set against Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2019. These two had eclipsed the unbroken 184-run partnership between KKR's Gautam Gambhir and Chris Lynn against the now-defunct Gujarat Lions in 2017.

Earlier this season, Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway came close to shattering the record, registering a 182-run stand for the first wicket against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). T Natarajan provided SRH with the breakthrough with the wicket of Gaikwad in the 18th over.

Overall, this is the third-highest partnership ever in the IPL after RCB's Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers' 229 (vs Gujarat Lions in 2016) and 215* (vs Mumbai Indians in 2015).

Twitter exploded following this iconic opening stand, with several cricket pundits and fans lauding De Kock and KL Rahul. Here's a look at some of the reactions: