Brendon McCullum could hit 158* vs RCB only due to Chris Gayle's absence: Murali Kartik

Former New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum's 158* on the opening night of the IPL on April 18, 2008 skyrocketed the potential that the novel tournament had, into another orbit. T20 cricket was a relatively new concept in 2008 when that first match of the IPL was played. But Brendon McCullum's knock expanded the horizon for what was possible in cricket. 12 years later, the IPL is the biggest cricket tournament in the world and many experts believe that it was that Brendon McCullum 158 knock that changed it all.

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Brendon McCullum 158: Chris Gayle's absence gave McCullum his chance

In an article by Cricbuzz, it is revealed how Brendon McCullum was ironically struggling in the nets before the maiden match of the inaugural IPL. Ex-RCB batsman Wasim Jaffer recounted how the team's strike bowler Zaheer Khan and him saw McCullum get out to every second ball bowled to him in the nets on the eve of the game and believed that he was a walking wicket. McCullum's then-teammate and former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik testified to that claim, adding that it was only due to the fact that their KKR teammate Chris Gayle was to arrive in India late that the Kiwi got the opportunity to open alongside Sourav Ganguly in the first match of the IPL.

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Brendon McCullum 158: How Chris Gayle allowed McCullum to set the record he eventually broke

Brendon McCullum looked particularly nervous in his first six balls of the IPL. However, a mistimed shot that flew off his bat to become the first six of the IPL, seemingly changed the complexion of the game. McCullum took the entire RCB attack to the cleaners with sublime strokemaking that left many purists of the game stunned. McCullum not only tonked a seldom-occuring T20 hundred but smashed the likes of Jacques Kallis and Praveen Kumar for more than 40 runs in the final two overs to take his own score past the 150-mark. His total still remains one of the most daunting IPL knocks to have ever been played.

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It is ironic that the biggest innings of McCullum's career happened because of Chris Gayle's absence and it was Gayle, himself, who broke McCullum's record, five years later, when he smoked the erstwhile Pune Warriors India for 175* at the very same ground. Murali Kartik happened to be in the same team as Gayle, as well, when the West Indian broke McCullum's record. Cricbuzz quoted Kartik reflecting on how he and his RCB teammates could see Gayle's 175* coming but McCullum's 158* happened at a time where it seemed far outside the realm of possibilities for the batsman himself and fans alike.

Brendon McCullum played 109 IPL matches and scored 2880 runs. He went on to captain the KKR side in IPL 2009. His 158* remained his highest IPL score throughout his 10-year-long IPL career. He won the IPL title with KKR in 2012. He is now the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

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