Sourav Ganguly told Brendon McCullum that his life had changed forever after the former New Zealand captain smashed an unbeaten 73-ball 158 for Kolkata Knight Riders in the first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) game on April 18 in 2008. Wicketkeeper batsman McCullum recalled that night where his blistering knock laced with 13 sixes and 10 fours helped KKR win by 140 runs against the Rahul Dravid led Royal Challengers Bangalore. It is still IPL’s second highest score with Chris Gayle’s 175 not out topping the charts.
“I don’t remember many reactions in detail, but what I do remember is what Sourav Ganguly said to me that night,” current KKR head coach McCullum told Knights Unplugged on www.kkr.in.
“Dada said, ‘Your life is changed forever’, and I didn’t quite know what he meant at the time, but (in hindsight), I 100% agree with him. Shah Rukh (Khan), in the months which followed or the days and the weeks and the months which followed, he said. ‘you’ll always be with the Knight Riders.’
