The first-ever match played in the IPL was a contest to savour. It not only set the tone for the lucrative tournament but was one of the finest match played in the history of IPL, thanks to some slogging from Brendon McCullum for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and brilliant bowling effort from their bowlers to bundle out Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on 82 runs.
Brendon McCullum, during his playing days, set the IPL on fire with his blistering 158 runs knock in the opening match. McCullum had a successful career as a captain and player for New Zealand. He liked to open the attack on the oppositions from the word go. This was one of the knock which gave IPL a perfect start.
It was unreal to see a batsman score almost 160 runs: Shubman Gill
KKR opener Shubman Gill has been impressive in the IPL 2020. He recalled watching the the prolific knock from the now KKR head coach. Gill said that it was unbelievable at that time to see a batsman score almost 160 runs in a T20 game because even in an one-day match it seemed too difficult.
“I can’t really remember if I watched that live (on television). But I definitely watched it when I was like around 10. It was so unreal at that time, you know, to be able to see a batsman score almost 160 runs in a T20 game because even in a one-day match it seemed very big score at that time,” Gill told Khaleej Times.
McCullum retired with over 14,000 runs in international cricket and a decent strike rate across format. He also led New Zealand to the 2015 World Cup final.