On this day in 2008: Brendon McCullum gave flying start to IPL
Apr 18, 2021
New Delhi [India], April 18 : On April 18, 2008, a global phenomenon in the form of the Indian Premier League (IPL) first came to light and went on to cement India's stature as a powerhouse in the game of cricket.
On this day, the first-ever match was played in the IPL, a battle between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
RCB won the toss and elected to bowl first. Little did they know, that a Kiwi batsman will take them to the cleaners. Put into bat, KKR got off to a flying start as openers Brendon McCullum and Sourav Ganguly put on 61 runs in just 5.2 overs.
Ganguly (10) was sent back to the pavilion by Zaheer Khan, but McCullum continued to march on. Hammering the bowlers to all round the park, McCullum spared no mercy on the opposition and as a result, he brought up his century in the 16th over of the innings.
As soon as brought up the feat, KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan gave him a standing ovation. McCullum however did not get bogged down and in the final four overs, he added 56 runs more to take his individual score to 158.
With this knock, KKR posted a mammoth score of 222/3 in the allotted twenty overs. KKR then had no difficulty in defending the score as the side bundled out RCB for just 82 runs, winning the match by 140 runs.
Ajit Agarkar was the pick of KKR bowlers as he returned with the figures of 3-25. This match gave a glorifying start to the competition as no one had known what the tournament had to offer before its start.
It was the first time that players were auctioned to take part in the compeititon, but in the end, this match settled all the myths and gave everyone satisfaction that it is indeed about cricket.
In the inaugural edition, KKR did not manage to reach the semi-finals, and it was Rajasthan Royals who managed to win the tournament.
Till date, 13 editions of the tournament have been played with Mumbai Indians winning it five times. Chennai Super Kings has won it thrice while KKR has managed to take the title twice.
The 14th edition of the tournament is underway and it will be played across six venues in India.
