Indian Premier League - IPL
Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders at Bangalore
KKR v BRC, IPL Match 1, Bangalore: McCullum blasts Knight Riders to glory
Apr 18, 2008
Brendon McCullum added substance to the hype surrounding the inaugural Indian Premier League tournament as he struck the highest-ever individual Twenty20 score to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders to a 140-run opening match victory against the Bangalore Royal Challengers on Friday.
The New Zealand opener went some way to fulfilling his US$700,000 price tag as he smashed 10 fours and 13 sixes to finish unbeaten on 158 from just 73 balls.
It was an innings unlikely to be matched for the remainder of this 59-game tournament and one to delight the Knight Riders' Bollywood actor owner, Shah Rukh Khan, who watched on as McCullum's one-man assault led his franchise to 222 for three.
In reply the home side never threatened to haul in their victory target as their top eight batsman failed to reach double figures before they were eventually bowled out for 82.
But it was McCullum who stole all the headlines on the opening night of this eagerly-anticipated tournament, although the Kiwi right-hander remained modest following his breathtaking innings.
"I don't know what to say, I am absolutely ecstatic to have got a score like that," McCullum said in an interview televised on Setanta 1 after his innings.
"The boundaries are pretty short, but it was nice to hit a couple out of the middle. It was nice to make a contribution like that."
KKR v BRC, IPL Match 1, Bangalore: Kolkata Knight Riders 222 for 3 in 20.0 ovs beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 82 in 15.1 ovs by 140 runs
Bangalore, Kolkata sides gear up for IPL show-opener
Apr 17, 2008
Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are waiting anxiously to see how the city-based concept fares when the Bangalore Royal Challengers and Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns in the lung-opener of the multi-million dollar DLF Indian Premier League at Bangalore on Friday.
Both Dravid and Ganguly, leading the Bangalore and Kolkata outfits respectively, are also new to the Twenty20 format of cricket and are understandably circumspect while commenting on the much-hyped tournament.
"It's a new concept. There will be a stiff competition in this event which has created a big hype with so much buzz around. It will no doubt bring in some freshness into the sport," said Dravid.
"It's fast paced and entertaining. But once the game starts the focus will only be on cricket," he added.
Dravid is waiting to see whether the Indian fans will accept the city-based rivalry with open arms.
"The city concept has not been tried in the game in this country. It's also nice to play along with different players with different cultures in your team," he said.
Dravid's opposite number Ganguly admitted that he could not figure out who was the favourite among the cities because of the nature of the T20 contest.
"There is no clear favourite in the shortest version of the game. Difference between teams lessens in the T20 format as the contest is too short.
"I consider this event as a contest between state sides with world-class players," he said.
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Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders at Bangalore
Scores
Toss: Bangalore.
Kolkata Knight Riders Innings
S.Ganguly c J.Kallis b Zaheer Khan 10 (12)
B.McCullum not out 158 (73)
R.Ponting c Kumar b Kallis 20 (20)
D.Hussey c White b Noffke 12 (12)
M. Hafeez not out 5 (3)
Extras 17
Total (20 overs) 3 wkts for 222
Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-112, 3-172.
Bowling
Praveen Kumar 4-0-38-0
Zaheer Khan 4-0-37-1
Noffke 4-0-40-1
Kallis 4-0-48-1
Joshi 3-0-26-0
White 1-0-24-0
Bangalore Royal Challengers Innings
R.Dravid b Sharma 2 (3)
W.Jaffer c Ponting b Dinda 6 (16)
V.Kohli b Dinda 1 (5)
J.Kallis c Kartik b Agarkar 8 (7)
C White c Saha b Agarkar 6 (10)-
M Boucher c Kartik b Ganguly 7 (9)
B Akhil c Ponting b Agarkar 0 (2)
A Noffke run out (Agarkar) 9 (10)
P Kumar not out 18 (15)
Z Khan b Ganguly 3 (8)-
S Joshi c McCullum b Shukla 3 (6)
Extras 19
Total (15.1 overs) All out 82
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-9, 3-24, 4-24, 4-38, 6-38, 7-43, 8-57, 9-70, 10-82.
Bowling
A Dinda 3-0-9-2-
I. Sharma 3-0-7-1
A. Agarkar 4-0-25-3-
S. Ganguly 4-0-21-2-
L. Shukla 1.1-0-12-1
Result: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 140 runs.
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 The Champions Twenty20 League, formed with the official sanction of ICC will kick off in October 2008. Eight domestic teams from four nations will participate. Cricket Australia will partner the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket South Africa (CSA). The champion team in the Champions Twenty20 league will get US $5 million, which is the highest ever prize money for a cricket event.
Get the latest news and views regarding Champions T20 League 
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