While the hype was around the build-up to the league and the future of cricket, it did not take too long for Brendon McCullum to take over with one of the defining innings of his life and kick start the cricketing feast. A cricket frenzy lashed the Chinnaswamy Stadium as the viewers witnessed a masterclass from McCullum.
The right-handed wicketkeeper-batter, who probably wasn’t even KKR’s first-choice opener – with Chris Gayle and captain Sourav Ganguly being the preferred choices – hit Zaheer Khan for three fours and a six in the next over. The six that flew over thirdman in the fourth delivery of the over was an early sign that it was McCullum’s day.
Years later, McCullum reflected on his innings, crediting it for changing his life in the space of just three hours “That night, my life changed completely in the space of those three hours or actually, even an hour and a half. You talk about sliding doors, and moments in your careers and in lives,” McCullum told KKR.
Lights. Camera. Action. IPL couldn’t have asked for a better start thanks to Brendon McCullum, the lead actor of a contest that would change the global cricket landscape forever. Royal Challengers Bangalore hosted Kolkata Knight Riders for the first ever match of the ambitious Indian Premier League on April 18, 2008 at the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium and McCullum hijacked the stage and the headlines with some sensational batting, producing an epic 73-ball 158.
Incidentally, McCullum’s unbeaten 158 is the only century hit by a Kolkata batter in the history of IPL, which he hopes to change at some point in IPL 2022. “Well, we need to work on that second hundred because I am their batting coach. Hopefully, we will see the second, third or fourth hundred at some stage throughout the season in quick time.