Best batting lineup in IPL history
Kohli (973 runs), AB de Villiers (687 runs), and Gayle (227 runs at SR 160) — the 2016 RCB top order was statistically the greatest batting unit ever assembled.
RCB 2016 team total: 200+ scores in 7 matches
Kohli + ABD combined in 2016: 1,660 runs
RCB 2016 avg first-innings score: 191 (highest ever)
Several IPL batting lineups stake a claim — MI 2010 with Sachin and Pollard, CSK 2018 with Rayudu and Watson, KKR 2014 with Gambhir and Lynn. But RCB's 2016 lineup exists in a category of its own.
The core of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers combined for 1,660 runs in a single season — a partnership output that has never been matched by any two batsmen on the same team in IPL history. Kohli's 973 runs at an average of 81 and strike rate of 152 was a one-man demolition of every bowling attack. ABD's 687 runs at a strike rate of 159 provided the middle-over acceleration that made RCB's totals unassailable.
The team metrics confirm the individual brilliance. RCB posted 200+ totals in 7 matches that season — the most by any team in a single IPL. Their average first-innings score of 191 remains the highest season-long average in tournament history. At the Chinnaswamy, they averaged 212 — a venue record that still stands.
The counter-argument is that this lineup didn't win the title — SRH beat them in the final. True. But the question is about batting quality, not team balance. RCB's 2016 bowling was their weakness; their batting was the most dominant in IPL history by every meaningful metric. No other lineup has come close to producing two batsmen who each averaged 60+ in the same season.
Challenge your friends with the data.