IPL: Tournament openers across all seasons

When the Indian Premier League (IPL) started in 2008, it was a leap into the unknown. There were players from all across the globe participating. It was a league which was built on the success of the inaugural World T20. And 10 years down the line, it is one of the best T20 leagues in the world. Former cricketers may criticise it a bit, but players participating have rated it very highly.

In a two-month-long tournament like the IPL, it is important to start well. The tournament opener (opening game) usually sets up the season and the IPL was off to a flying start with Brendon McCullum lighting up the very first game in the history of the league. Thus, let’s look back at all the opening games of each IPL.

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2008 - RCB vs KKR, Bangalore

This is the game that set the IPL on fire and it was a perfect start to what was a step into the unknown. After a grand opening ceremony in Bangalore, RCB won the toss and opted to field first.

The first over of the IPL was bowled by Praveen Kumar and it was a sedate start as 3 runs came off that over and no runs were scored off the bat. But what followed was absolute carnage. Zaheer Khan bowled the second over and was smashed for 3 fours and a six by Brendon McCullum. That was the start of a brutal knock. The Kiwi wicket-keeper batsman spared no bowler. The ball was flying to all corners of the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

And when KKR’s innings came to a close, McCullum had scored a stunning 158 in just 73 balls. His knock included 10 fours and 13 sixes. KKR scored 222 and the next best score after 158 was just 20 by Ricky Ponting.

Chasing a huge target, RCB were never in the chase. In fact, only one batsman (Praveen) Kumar got into double figures as the Bangalore franchise slumped to a big defeat. They were bowled out for 82 as Ajit Agarkar took 3 wickets while Sourav Ganguly and Ashok Dinda took 2 wickets apiece.

Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 222 for 3 (McCullum 158*, Zaheer 1/38) beat Bangalore Royal Challengers 82 (Praveen Kumar 15, Agarkar 3-25, Dinda 2/9)

2009 – CSK vs MI, Cape Town

Sachin Tendulkar was the Man of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 59.

After the success of the inaugural World T20 in South Africa, the IPL was shifted to the Rainbow Nation due to the General Elections. Runner-ups in the first season of the IPL were up against Mumbai Indians in the first game of the 2009 season.

After playing only the second half of the first season, Sachin Tendulkar helped Mumbai begin on a positive note. After being put into bat, MI were off to a decent start as they reached 40/1 in 6 overs. But as the innings went along Tendulkar slowly started to shift gears. He found the boundary more often and ended up scoring a 49-ball 59. Abhishek Nayar’s quick-fire cameo of 35 (in 14 balls) propelled MI to 165.

Chasing 166, CSK kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were largely behind the eight-ball. Even Dhoni’s late blitz couldn’t help CSK get over the line as MI won by 19 runs. Malinga bowled wonderfully as he took 3/15 to put the brakes on a strong CSK batting line-up.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 166 for 7 (Tendulkar 59*, Nayar 35, Gony 2/32) beat Chennai Super Kings 145 for 7 (Hayden 44, Dhoni 36, Malinga 3-15, Jayasuriya 2/34)

2010 – DC vs KKR, Mumbai (Dr DY Patil Sports Academy)

Mathews was brilliant with the bat and ball.

The defending champions Deccan Chargers (DC) squared up against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to kick things off in the 3rd season of the IPL. Deccan Chargers won the toss and put KKR into bat first.

KKR got off to a horrible start as they lost Manoj Tiwary (first ball) and skipper Sourav Ganguly (fourth ball) in the first over of the game. They lost Cheteshwar Pujara and Brad Hodge in the next 4 overs as well. With KKR reeling at 31/4, Owais Shah came together with Angelo Mathews and put on a splendid partnership. Mathews struck a 46-ball 65 while Shah made 58 in 46 balls to propel KKR’s score to a competitive 162.

DC then got off to a flying start as they reached 61/1 in 6 overs. Gilchrist was going great guns as he raced past 50 in just 30 deliveries. But his dismissal triggered a collapse as DC faltered at the death and eventually lost by 11 runs.

Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 161 for 4 (Mathews 65*, Shah 58*, Vaas 2-22) beat Deccan Chargers 150 for 7 (Gilchrist 54, Laxman 22, Langeveldt 2-26)

2011 – CSK vs KKR, Chennai

Southee bowled a brilliant final over.

After the first three seasons, the teams underwent a major change as most players were put back into the auction. Two new teams (Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors India) entered the fray and it became a 10-team tournament. The IPL started only 6 days after India won the World Cup. The 2010 Champions Chennai Super Kings played the first game of the 4th edition of the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

For a change, CSK won the toss and batted first. On the back of Anirudha Srikanth’s 64 and a couple of cameos from Raina and Dhoni, CSK got to 153 on a sluggish Chepauk pitch.

KKR got off to a good start with Jacques Kallis and Manvinder Bisla adding 64 for the opening stand. Despite losing two wickets, KKR were in total control of the chase as they reached 111/2 in 15 overs. Gautam Gambhir had surprisingly held himself back. But in two overs, KKR lost three wickets, but Manoj Tiwary’s blitz in the 19th over reduced the equation to 9 off the last over.

However, Tim Southee bowled a superb final over as he gave away just 6 runs and took the wicket of Laxmi Ratan Shukla to seal the game for CSK.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 153 for 4 (Anirudha 64, Raina 33, Kallis 2/33) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 151 for 7 (Kallis 54, Tiwary 27, Southee 1/30, Ashwin 1/26)

2012 – CSK vs MI, Chennai

Richard Levi and Sachin Tendulkar got MI off to a good start chasing a modest total of 113.

The IPL was a 9-team event as Kochi Tuskers Kerala backed out. After winning back-to-back IPL titles, Chennai Super Kings was once again played the tournament opener. This time it was against Mumbai Indians.

Put into bat by MI, CSK never got going. They lost Faf du Plessis in the very first over and then lost Murali Vijay in the final over of the powerplay. Raina was going well at one end. However, his dismissal in the 10th over triggered a massive collapse as they lost their last 8 wickets for a mere 37 runs. They struggled their way through to 112. Raina scored 36 while no other batsman crossed the 20-run mark. Lasith Malinga, Pragyan Ojha and Kieron Pollard shared two wickets each. Three runouts didn’t help CSK’s cause as well.

MI chased 113 with ease. Richard Levi’s 50 set up the innings as they polished the chase off in the 17th over.

Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 112 (Raina 36, Pollard 2-15, Malinga 2-16, Ojha 2-17) lost to Mumbai Indians 115 for 2 (Levi 50, Franklin 25, Bravo 1/14)

2013 – KKR vs DD, Kolkata

Gambhir's 41 helped KKR chase down 129 with ease.

The 2013 edition of the IPL was off to a rocking start. Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and asked Delhi Daredevils to bat first.

Brett Lee bowled a brilliant leg-cutter as knocked over Unmukt Chand first ball. Delhi Daredevils tried to rebuild but they kept losing wickets every time there was a partnership starting to flourish. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene batted through and scored 66 which helped DD post 128 in their 20 overs. 9 DD batsmen fell for single-digit scores as Sunil Narine (4/13) and Rajat Bhatia (2/23) shared 6 wickets in between them.

KKR lost Manvinder Bisla early, but Gautam Gambhir’s 41 along with the 20s from Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary helped the Kolkata franchise chase 129 with ease.

Brief Scores: Delhi Daredevils 128 (Jayawardene 66, Narine 4-13, Bhatia 2/23) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 129 for 4 (Gambhir 41, Kallis 23, Tiwary 23, Nadeem 2/22)

2014 – MI vs KKR, Abu Dhabi

The 131-run partnership between Kallis and Pandey set up KKR's victory.

The IPL was once again an 8-team tournament after Pune Warriors India withdrew from the IPL. Because of the general elections, it was once again shifted out of India. But this time it was only for a month and UAE was the destination.

Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders squared off against each other. KKR won the toss and batted first. Skipper Gautam Gambhir fell for a laborious eight-ball duck. However, Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey held the innings together as they shared a 131-run stand for the second wicket. Pandey made 64 while Kallis scored 72 as Suryakumar Yadav’s 5-ball 13 helped KKR get to 163. Malinga (4/23) and Zaheer (1/23).

Chasing 8-runs an over, The MI openers – Michael Hussey and Aditya Tare struggled to get going. Hussey was dismissed in 5th over for a 13-ball 3. MI reached 32/1 in 6 overs and then reached 50 in the 10th over. Skipper Rohit Sharma stitched a 61-run stand with Ambati Rayudu to keep MI’s hopes alive. But once both were dismissed, Mumbai slumped to a 41-run defeat.

Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 163 for 5 (Kallis 72, Pandey 64, Malinga 4-23) beat Mumbai Indians 122 for 7 (Rayudu 48, Narine 4-20, Morkel 1/16)

2015 – KKR vs MI, Kolkata

Rohit Sharma's 98 went in vain as KKR chased down 170.

The 2015 IPL opener was the repeat of the 2014 edition opening game. Kolkata Knight Riders faced Mumbai Indians once again in the opening game but this time it was at the former’s den, the Eden Gardens.

After being put into bat by KKR, MI were in big trouble at 37/3. Rohit Sharma was joined by Corey Anderson at that stage. The duo resurrected the innings and helped Mumbai put up a competitive total of 168. Rohit scored a magnificent 98 while Anderson complemented him very well as he made 55. Morne Morkel bowled excellently as he had figures of 2/18 in 4 overs

In reply, KKR lost Robin Uthappa early but Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey stitched together an 85-run stand to put KKR on course. But after those two batsmen were dismissed, Suryakumar Yadav scored a blistering 20-ball 46 to take KKR home. He struck 5 sixes and 1 four in that 20-ball innings. KKR won by 7 wickets and 9 balls to spare.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 168 for 3 (Rohit 98*, Anderson 55*, Morkel 2/18) lost to Kolkata Knight Riders 170 for 3 (Gambhir 57, Suryakumar 46, Pandey 40, Anderson 1/21)

2016 – MI vs RPS, Mumbai

RPS

were

one of the two new teams in the 2016 edition.

The 2016 edition of the IPL saw a big change. Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were banned for two years and hence had to miss out. Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions filled in for the former two champions.

Rising Pune Supergiants took on Mumbai Indians in the opening game of the 9th edition. Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bat first. But nothing went right for the defending champions as they were reduced to 30/4 in 5 overs. They then lost the big-hitting Kieron Pollard and Shreyas Gopal and were reeling at 51/6. MI somehow managed to get to a respectable total of 121 as Harbhajan scored a vital 30-ball 45 and Rayudu contributed with 22.

Chasing a total of 122, Ajinkya Rahane and Faf du Plessis shared a 78-run opening stand to kill the game. du Plessis scored 34 and was dismissed by Harbhajan. Rahane continued and stayed till the end as he saw RPS home with more than 5 overs to spare.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 121 for 8 (Harbhajan 45*, Marsh 2-21, Ishant 2/36) lost to Rising Pune Supergiants 126 for 1 (Rahane 66*, du Plessis 34, Harbhajan 1/24)

2017 – SRH vs RCB, Hyderabad

Yuvraj was in full flow in the opening game of IPL 10.

The 10th edition of the IPL had something special. Each venue had its own opening ceremony before their first home game. It was the second consecutive year without CSK and RR but it would be the last without the two former champions.

The first game of the 2017 season was the repeat of 2016 final. However, RCB were without key players. Skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were nursing injuries and were to miss the first few games. Shane Watson was made the captain.

RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first. David Warner was dismissed early but Shikhar Dhawan and Moises Henriques steadied the ship. Dhawan scored 40 while Henriques made 52. But the real impetus was given by Yuvraj Singh who blasted a 27-ball 62 (7 fours, 3 sixes). And like he did in 2016 final, Ben Cutting smashed a couple of sixes in the final over to push the score over 200. SRH posted 207 in their 20 overs.

RCB got off to a good start as Chris Gayle and Mandeep Singh added 52 inside the powerplay. But both of them were dismissed in the span of one over. Kedar Jadhav, Travis Head and Shane Watson continued the momentum but none of them could convert their starts into a big match-winning knock. Thus, RCB kept losing wickets and eventually fell 35 runs short of SRH’s total.

Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad 207 for 4 (Yuvraj 62, Henriques 52, Chahal 1-22, Mills 1/31) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 172 (Gayle 32, Jadhav 31, Bhuvneshwar 2-27, Rashid 2-36)