AB's secret, and what he said to Kohli

Virat Kohli has revealed the details of a mid-pitch conversation with teammate AB de Villiers during their record-breaking partnership in the Indian Premier League on Saturday night.

Kohli (109 from 55 balls) and De Villiers (129no from 52 balls) confirmed their status as the two most dominant batsmen in world cricket with a T20 record 229-run partnership for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujarat Lions.

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Coming to the crease at the end of the fourth over, De Villiers was the aggressor throughout the innings and he brought up three figures in the 16th over from just 43 balls.

Kohli, by comparison, was sedate in his knock and had moved to 51 from 40 balls by the time De Villiers reached his century, and added just another run before he faced up to start the 18th over.

A century was seemingly beyond Kohli's reach with 48 runs to get and just 18 balls remaining in the innings, but the Indian star blasted 13 runs in the 18th over and then began the 19th with three sixes and a four to race to 87 not out.

It was at this point that the two batsmen came together for a brief discussion, with Kohli revealing his partner cheekily planted the seed that another three-figure score was within reach.

"When the chinaman (bowler Shivil Kaushik) was bowling and I hit him for three sixes, (De Villiers) came up to me and said 'are you thinking what I'm thinking?'", Kohli said with a smile.

"I said 'no, just keep quiet. I don't want to hear it!'

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"So I just kept ... hitting it and eventually I got to the three-figure mark."

Kohli reached his ton, his third in seven innings in this IPL campaign, with another six midway through the final over before perishing two balls later chasing yet another big shot.

While thrilled with posting three figures, Kohli was more impressed with his partner's performance and his team's massive total of 3-248.

"(My century) is irrelevant in terms of what we want to achieve as a team," he said.

"When you get 250-odd, have a partnership of 200 with AB, get a hundred yourself and watch his hundred, I can't ask for more as a batsman.

"It's always a pleasure batting with AB. It was a wonderful partnership again.

"He's just an absolute legend. He gave me so much confidence. I started off slowly but he just took over and you saw what he can do when he gets set."

De Villiers, meanwhile, revealed the secret to his performance was the presence of his wife Danielle in the stands at the jam-packed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

"My secret's very, very simple - my wife came to watch me today," the South African said.

"It's always a pleasure batting with (Kohli). At my age of 32 I'm carrying it a bit heavier than him. He's looking much fitter than me.

"I actually didn't feel too good in the beginning (of my innings). It was slow and difficult to time it.

"But like some of my previous knocks, one or two in the middle and you grow confidence from that."