Brendon McCullum blazed his way to the tournament's first century as Chennai Super Kings registered a formidable 209 for four against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eighth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday.
Opting to bat at the M A Chidambaram stadium, McCullum reached his century in the last ball of the innings, with the belligerent knock consuming just 56 deliveries. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed 53 off 29 balls while briskly adding 63 runs for the third wicket with the New Zealander. McCullum had a 75-run stand with opening partner Dwayne Smith, and another 60 with Suresh Raina, respectively.
Batting on 89 at the start of the final over, McCullum saw Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja being dismissed off successive balls before hitting a six and a four to reach 99. Off a full length delivery by Trent Boult, McCullum jabbed it to the covers for a single to bring up a well-deserved century.
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McCullum struck nine sixes and seven fours during his stay in the middle. Dhoni, who smashed Karn Sharma for three sixes in the 18th over, hit the maximum four times besides picking as many boundaries. The hosts had a good start and exploded at the death. McCullum was his usual self, often running down the track to unsettle the bowlers.
Pace spearhead Dale Steyn missed out on the match and the others struggled with Ishant Shrama leaking 46 runs in three overs. While Super Kings didn't tinker with the starting XI that beat Delhi Daredevils on Thursday, Sunrisers' Kane Williamson and Trent Boult made their IPL debuts. Ravi Bopara got a game ahead of Eoin Morgan, and Dale Steyn missed out.
