KKR vs RCB: As the Kolkata Knight Riders get ready to face the Royal Challengers Bangalore tonight, we look back at an iconic match from the past between these two teams.
There is always a special connection between KKR and RCB. These two played, after all, the first-ever IPL match in history. Back in the year 2008, when India were the reigning T20 World Champions, IPL was still just a brainchild, ready to come into existence.
But it needed a good start, to put it onto the world map. And boy did it get one!
The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore hosted the first-ever IPL match, that took place between KKR led by Sourav Ganguly and RCB led by Rahul Dravid. RCB had won the toss and put in KKR to bat.
What followed was the perfect curtain raiser to this money-churning behemoth we now know as the IPL!
KKR’s New Zealand opener Brendon McCullum, who now happens to be the coach of the same team, bludgeoned the RCB bowling attack into oblivion. He scored a whopping 158 not out in just 73 balls as KKR ended up with a massive score of 222-3.
KKR vs RCB in IPL
In reply, RCB folded out for just 82 runs. The IPL had well and truly begun. No one would have expected a better start than that.
Also Read: KKR vs RCB IPL 2021: 5 Key Players to Watch Out for in Tonight’s MatchÂ
Now, some 13 and a half years later, the teams face each other once again, in a foreign land. The fortunes of the two teams from that night to now have completely reversed. KKR are in dire straits, languishing at 7th place in the points table.
While RCB are in the 3rd position, and look well set to reach the playoffs.
Will we see a McCullum-like innings again tonight, with the man himself watching from the dugout? We’ll have to wait till 7.30 pm IST to get the answer for that one!
