Brendon McCullum introduces IPL in style with 158* vs RCB on Apr 18, 2008; watch video

Saturday marks the 12-year anniversary of the first-ever match of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Royal Challengers Bangalore hosted Kolkata Knight Riders at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and cricket was never the same again. In the very first innings of the very first match, Brendon McCullum smoked the RCB bowlers for an unbeaten 158* which changed the trajectory of the IPL forever.

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Brendon McCullum 158 in the first-ever match of the IPL

Coming to the first match of the IPL, no one knew what to expect from the T20 tournament, which was sporting some of the biggest names in the history of the game. In the first match, two high profile teams - Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Bangalore met in Bengaluru. RCB captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and chose to field first. For the Knight Riders, their then captain Sourav Ganguly and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum opened the batting.

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While Ganguly lost his wicket in the sixth over, Brendon McCullum kept on batting. After Ganguly, McCullum stitched a 51-run partnership with Ricky Ponting. The Kiwi keeper looked at particular ease as he crossed the 50-run mark and kept taking the RCB bowlers to the cleaners.

In the 16th over, McCullum took two runs of his 53rd ball and got to his century. The first century of the IPL. But McCullum did not stop there as his demeanour changed and he further smashed Jacques Kallis for 21 runs in the 19th over. He finally completed the KKR innings by smashing Praveen Kumar for 22 runs in the 20th over and also bringing up his 150 in the process. Brendon McCullum 158 will always remain etched together in the history of T20 cricket. Here are some highlights of the Brendon McCullum 158 knock.

(Video Credit: Soumyashree Das/YouTube)

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McCullum's blitzkrieg in an innings, which consisted of 10 fours and 13 sixes, proved too much for Rahul Dravid's side. Chasing 223, the boys from Bangalore crumbled under pressure and the highest scorer in the whole XI was tail-ender Praveen Kumar, who got 18. For a batting lineup that consisted of Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Virat Kohli, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher, it was quite fascinating to note that no other batsman in the whole lineup even crossed the 10-run mark. KKR ran through RCB in just 15.1 overs and got them all out for 82. KKR won by 140 runs and Brendon McCullum was the Player of the Match. 

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In IPL 2008, both teams could not do much as the tournament's business end arrived. The Royal Challengers Bangalore ended at the seventh spot with only four wins. The Knight Riders ended up just above them with six wins. Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals ended up winning the inaugural IPL.