Off to a great start! – 5 most memorable IPL opening encounters
When the Indian Premier League started in 2008, no one knew it would become the most renowned T20 tournament across the globe. People say ‘well begun is half done’ and this is what happens in the Indian Premier League. The opening game usually sets up the season and over the years, we have witnessed some of the thrilling openers in IPL. Let us flip back the pages and take a look at the best five opening games IPL has produced.
RCB vs KKR in 2008
Sourav Ganguly’s Kolkata Knight Riders were up against Rahul Dravid’s Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in 2008. Batting first, KKR went berserk as Brendon Mccullum smashed 158 off 73 including 10 fours and 13 sixes. His audacious hitting resulted in the Riders racking up a score of 222 on the board. Chasing this mammoth target, RCB were bowled out for 82 with only Praveen Kumar scoring runs in double digits (15). In this one-sided affair, Challengers lost their first game of the league by a whopping 140 runs. But the match is always remembered for McCullum’s whirlwind knock.
KKR vs DC in 2010
In a match between defending champions Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders, DC won the toss and elected to field first. KKR got off to a horrible start as they were reduced to a mere score of 31/4. However, Angelo Mathews’ 46-ball 65 and Owais Shah’s 46-ball 58 helped the team in putting up a decent score of 162. In reply, Gilchrist got Chargers off to a flying start as he brought up his half-century in 30 deliveries. But his dismissal triggered a collapse and DC eventually lost the match by 11 runs.
CSK vs KKR in 2011
Batting first, the defending champions Chennai Super Kings managed to put a decent score of 153 on the board owing to a 64-run knock by Anirudh Srikkanth against Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural match of 2011 edition. Chasing the target, KKR were in a good position at 111/2 in 15 overs but the team lost its three wickets in the next two overs. In a nail-biting finish, CSK needed to defend 9 runs in the final over and Tim Southee did the job for the Super Kings as they clinched the match by two runs.
SRH vs RCB in 2017
RCB were up against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first game of 2017 campaign without the presence of their star players Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Under the leadership of Shane Watson, Bangalore elected to field first and SRH racked up a total of 207 in 20 overs. Yuvraj Singh and Henriques emerged as match-winners for their team with a knock of 62 and 52 along with the cameos from Shikhar Dhawan and Ben Cutting. In reply, despite getting off to a good start with 52 runs in six overs owing to the partnership by Chris Gayle and Mandeep Singh, RCB lost the match by 35 runs as none of the batsmen could convert their starts into a match-winning innings.
CSK vs MI in 2018
It can be considered as one of the most anticipated openers in the IPL history as CSK were staging a comeback after a two-year ban in 2018. CSK had a dream start as they managed to send both the opening batsmen back to pavilion within four overs. However, with notable contributions from Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Krunal Pandya, the defending champions put up a total of 165 runs on the board. Chasing 166, the Yellow Army were reduced to 84/6 and MI were being considered as the favourites. However, Dwayne Bravo made a sensational 68 off just 30 balls to turn the game around out of nowhere. Kedar Jadhav also emerged as a hero for CSK in the end as they clinched the exhilarating match by 1 wicket.
