diff --git a/lua/diffview/scene/layouts/diff_1_inline.lua b/lua/diffview/scene/layouts/diff_1_inline.lua
index cfa24c68..1affd7ad 100644
--- a/lua/diffview/scene/layouts/diff_1_inline.lua
+++ b/lua/diffview/scene/layouts/diff_1_inline.lua
@@ -23,17 +23,19 @@ local M = {}
 ---`'diffopt'` forces `vim.diff` to disable the heuristic instead of falling
 ---back to whatever default the vim.diff implementation currently uses.
 ---
----`linematch` is intentionally not forwarded. In `result_type = "indices"`
----mode it splits a single modify-hunk into smaller hunks that pair lines by
----similarity rather than by position — e.g. an old `-- foo = X, -- comment`
----line gets paired with a new `-- bar = Y, -- comment` line further down
----because both share the `-- ` prefix and a `, -- ` separator, even though
----the natural (positional) pair is the new uncommented `foo = X` line. The
----inline renderer pairs lines positionally inside each hunk, so a non-zero
----linematch causes deletions to render anchored against the wrong new line.
+---`linematch` defaults to 60 (git's default) so a single modify-hunk whose
+---old and new sides differ in length is split into properly-aligned
+---sub-hunks. Without it, the renderer pairs lines positionally inside the
+---one large hunk, so e.g., commenting-out a block (8 old lines vs 9 new
+---lines: a new TEMP header plus 8 lines each gaining a `-- ` prefix) pairs
+---every `vim.api.nvim_set_hl(...)` line with the wrong commented copy,
+---producing > `INTRALINE_MAX_HUNKS` per pair and falling back to whole-line
+---add+delete instead of showing only the `-- ` insertion. The user's
+---`'diffopt'` `linematch:N` entry overrides this default (including `0` to
+---opt back into positional pairing).
 ---@return InlineDiffOpts
 local function effective_diffopt()
-  local out = { indent_heuristic = false }
+  local out = { indent_heuristic = false, linematch = 60 }
   local diffopt = vim.opt.diffopt --[[@as vim.Option]]
   for _, v in
     ipairs(diffopt:get() --[[@as string[] ]])
@@ -41,6 +43,8 @@ local function effective_diffopt()
     local key, val = v:match("^([%w_-]+):(.+)$")
     if key == "algorithm" then
       out.algorithm = val
+    elseif key == "linematch" then
+      out.linematch = tonumber(val)
     elseif v == "indent-heuristic" then
       out.indent_heuristic = true
     elseif v == "iwhite" then
diff --git a/lua/diffview/tests/functional/inline_diff_spec.lua b/lua/diffview/tests/functional/inline_diff_spec.lua
index 937efbeb..5e25e16e 100644
--- a/lua/diffview/tests/functional/inline_diff_spec.lua
+++ b/lua/diffview/tests/functional/inline_diff_spec.lua
@@ -519,6 +519,56 @@ describe("diffview.scene.inline_diff", function()
         assert.are.equal("DiffviewDiffDeleteInline", h)
       end
     end)
+
+    -- Commenting-out a block prepends `-- ` to N lines and inserts a header
+    -- line above them, producing an N:N+1 modify hunk. With positional
+    -- pairing inside one hunk the new header pairs with the first old line
+    -- and every subsequent pair becomes a shifted, dissimilar pair — so the
+    -- char-level diff fragments, returns `"skipped"`, and the block renders
+    -- as a full add+delete instead of inline `-- ` insertions. Linematch
+    -- splits the hunk into a pure-add for the header plus an aligned N:N
+    -- modify, which the renderer can pair positionally without skipping.
+    it("renders a commented-out block as inline `-- ` insertions with linematch", function()
+      local bufnr = fresh_buf({
+        "-- TEMP: disable overrides.",
+        "-- vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, 'A')",
+        "-- vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, 'B')",
+      })
+      inline_diff.render(bufnr, { "vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, 'A')", "vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, 'B')" }, {
+        "-- TEMP: disable overrides.",
+        "-- vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, 'A')",
+        "-- vim.api.nvim_set_hl(0, 'B')",
+      }, { style = "overleaf", linematch = 60 })
+
+      local marks = extmarks(bufnr)
+      -- The header is a pure addition and should be the only row carrying a
+      -- full `DiffviewDiffAdd` line highlight; the commented lines below
+      -- must NOT pick up that backdrop (which is the symptom of the
+      -- positional-pairing fallback).
+      local add_rows = {}
+      for _, h in ipairs(line_hls(marks)) do
+        if h.hl == "DiffviewDiffAdd" then
+          add_rows[#add_rows + 1] = h.row
+        end
+      end
+      assert.are.same({ 0 }, add_rows)
+
+      -- Each commented line carries a `DiffviewDiffAddInline` extmark over
+      -- the inserted `-- ` prefix.
+      local adds = char_ranges(marks, "DiffviewDiffAddInline")
+      local rows_with_add = {}
+      for _, a in ipairs(adds) do
+        rows_with_add[a.row] = true
+      end
+      assert.is_true(rows_with_add[1], "expected inline add on row 1")
+      assert.is_true(rows_with_add[2], "expected inline add on row 2")
+
+      -- No paired old lines are echoed as deletion virt_lines (the
+      -- skipped-fallback symptom): only the inline strikethrough virt_text
+      -- representing the empty old prefix would appear, and even that is
+      -- empty for a pure prefix insertion.
+      assert.are.same({}, virt_line_counts(marks))
+    end)
   end)
 
   describe("deletion_highlight", function()
diff --git a/lua/diffview/tests/functional/layouts_spec.lua b/lua/diffview/tests/functional/layouts_spec.lua
index 5896fcbc..8efb67f9 100644
--- a/lua/diffview/tests/functional/layouts_spec.lua
+++ b/lua/diffview/tests/functional/layouts_spec.lua
@@ -1769,14 +1769,24 @@ describe("diffview.scene.layouts.diff_1_inline diffopt forwarding", function()
     eq(true, effective_diffopt().indent_heuristic)
   end)
 
-  it("never forwards linematch even when set in 'diffopt'", function()
-    set_diffopt({ "linematch:60", "iblank" })
+  it("defaults linematch to 60 when absent from 'diffopt'", function()
+    set_diffopt({ "internal" })
+    eq(60, effective_diffopt().linematch)
+  end)
+
+  it("forwards linematch:N from 'diffopt'", function()
+    set_diffopt({ "linematch:30", "iblank" })
     local opts = effective_diffopt()
-    assert.is_nil(opts.linematch)
+    eq(30, opts.linematch)
     -- Sanity-check that other entries still parse (confirms the loop ran).
     eq(true, opts.ignore_blank_lines)
   end)
 
+  it("honours an explicit linematch:0 to opt out of line-matching", function()
+    set_diffopt({ "linematch:0" })
+    eq(0, effective_diffopt().linematch)
+  end)
+
   it("leaves ignore flags nil when 'diffopt' has no corresponding entry", function()
     set_diffopt({ "internal" })
     local opts = effective_diffopt()