Brendon McCullum was not a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore side that lost their match against Mumbai Indians Tuesday night. The explosive New Zealand batsman had failed to score big in the last few matches and was kept on the bench.
But 10 years ago, it was McCullum who gave Indian Premier League the most explosive start possible. It was the very first match of the Indian Premier League. McCullum was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders then and he played against his current side- Bangalore Royal Challengers. McCullum blasted an unbeaten 158 from a mere 73 deliveries, the highest score in a Twenty20 match then, to propel Kolkata Knight Riders to an imposing 222 for 3.
McCullum's stunning knock remains etched in the mermory of every IPL fan forever.
Interestingly, he failed to score a single run off the first six balls into his innings. He then raced to 18 off the next four balls.
McCullum finished with a strike rate of more than two runs per ball. He hit 13 sixes in that innings.
McCullum gave the IPL a dream start. People had tuned in to watch a new experiment, something cricket fans had never seen- a T20 league comprising of the best of the best. They didn't know what to expect. McCullum showed them what was possible. The IPL extravaganza has well and truly begun.
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