That wasn’t expected! If we go back in time, way back to 2008, the first-ever IPL season saw KKR face RCB in Bengaluru for the opening match. It was none other than Brendon McCullum who stole the show, smashing an unbeaten 158 runs, helping KKR post a massive total of 222. In response, RCB’s batting lineup crumbled for just 82 runs.
Fast forward to IPL 2025, and both teams are once again meeting in the tournament opener, their second such clash since 2008. In today’s match, KKR struggled with the bat, managing to post only 174 runs at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. They started strong, with Ajinkya Rahane’s innings grabbing massive attention and Sunil Narine also punishing the bowlers. However, once they were dismissed, the rest of the team found it difficult to keep the momentum going.
Comparison of KKR’s Batting in IPL 2008 & IPL 2025 Openers
| Batters | 2008 (vs RCB, Bengaluru) | 2025 (vs RCB, Kolkata) |
| Sourav Ganguly (c) | 10 (12) – c Kallis b Khan | N/A |
| Brendon McCullum † | 158* (73) – Not Out | N/A |
| Ricky Ponting | 20 (20) – c Kumar b Kallis | N/A |
| David Hussey | 12 (12) – c White b Noffke | N/A |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 5* (3) – Not Out | N/A |
| Extras | 17 (b 4, lb 4, w 9) | 9 (b 1, lb 3, w 5) |
| Total Runs | 222/3 (20 overs) | 174/9 (20 overs) |
| Quinton de Kock † | N/A | 4 (5) – c †Sharma b Hazlewood |
| Sunil Narine | N/A | 44 (26) – c †Sharma b Rasikh Salam |
| Ajinkya Rahane (c) | N/A | 56 (31) – c Rasikh Salam b Pandya |
| Venkatesh Iyer | N/A | 6 (7) – b Pandya |
| Angkrish Raghuvanshi | N/A | 30 (22) – c †Sharma b Yash Dayal |
| Rinku Singh | N/A | 12 (10) – b Pandya |
| Andre Russell | N/A | 4 (3) – b Suyash Sharma |
| Ramandeep Singh | N/A | 6* (9) – Not Out |
| Harshit Rana | N/A | 5 (6) – c †Sharma b Hazlewood |
| Spencer Johnson | N/A | 1* (1) – Not Out |
