“As a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders it is good to be here for the tournament and we have appointed McCullum as our team captain, which we are very happy about,” Buchanan told reporters here.

Buchanan added that McCullum was the best option for the team, which is aiming for a semi-final berth in the IPL season 2. He also stated that Saurav Ganguly, who captained the side in the IPL season 1, has taken the news well and is a part of the core group.

Earlier in April 2009, Buchanan had proposed his multiple captaincy theory, which did not go very well with KKR’s ex-captain Saurav Ganguly.

Then, Ganguly had openly opposed the idea saying, “Tomorrow I can ask for four different coaches.”

A number of other cricketers,  including Sunil Gavaskar, Dileep Vengsarkar, and Shane Warne, also opposed Buchanan’s multiple captaincy theory.

On the other hand, team owner Shahrukh Khan said that the idea should be given a chance and he would rather try and fail instead of not trying.

In their first IPL season 2 match, that will take place on April 19, 2009, KKR will take on the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers.

Brendan McCullum is the wicket-keeper and opening batsman of the New Zealand team. The 27-year-old, known for his aggressive batting skills, scored 158 unbeaten runs in the first match of the Kolkata Knight Riders, on April 18, 2008, in IPL season 1.

His unbeaten 158 is the highest score ever in a Twenty20 match.

The IPL season 2, which will run from April 18 – May 25, 2009, was kicked off on April 16, 2009, with much fanfare.

A procession of the eight franchisees with the teams and team owners, passed through the city centre in Cape Town, with the crowds cheering from both sides of the road. The Kolkata Knight Riders tableaux was a huge draw because of the immense popularity of team owner and Bollywood superstar, Shahrukh Khan.

The eight franchisees in the IPL are Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils, and Kolkata Knight Riders.

The IPL Season 1 winning team was the Shane Warne-led Rajasthan Royals while the runner-up was the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings.

Chennai Super Kings will be the biggest losers as their top stars Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey will depart on April 29.

The already battered Kings XI Punjab will not have the services of fast bowler Brett Lee and Simon Katich, while another struggling team, Deccan Chargers, would have to bid adieu to Andrew Symonds.
Kolkata Knight Riders would loose Ricky Ponting.

The players are leaving to take part in a team training programme ahead of the Carribean tour.
New Zealand stars Jacob Oram would also leave the Chennai Super Kings camp early next month, to be followed by his team mates Daniel Vettori (Delhi Daredevils), and big hitter Brendan McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders)

With these departures there would be a perceived changes in the fortunes of the teams. South African big hitter Herschelle Gibbs would join the Deccan Chargers, while his skipper Graeme Smith will strengthen the ranks of the resurgent Rajasthan Royals.

Shane Warne will also have the services of Pakistan’s Younis Khan and Sohail Tanvir.

Chennai Superkings can take consolation from the fact that their bowling department will be strengthened with the arrival of Makaya Ntini this week.

Albie Morkel is also slated to join the Chennai Superkings. Will these changes affect the fortunes of the team? Only time will tell.

Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said that its too early to predict which team would win the DLF IPL tournament. According to Dhoni, the team that gels well early would win the series.

MS Dhoni said, “The teams have played just one or two matches. You cannot make any assessment on this basis. There are lots of matches left. There will be ups and downs. The team which gels well throughout will be the winner.”

Dhoni has a point there. So far, the teams which looked like they were playing as a unit have won. Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers have looked haphazard so far, despite the presence of some experienced players.

Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians

The main problem that worries Mumbai Indians is the fitness of their captain Sachin Tendulkar. He missed the team’s first match against Bangalore Royal Challengers because a groin injury. It is not known till now whether Sachin would be able to play in tomorrow’s game against the Chennai Superkings. Harbhajan Singh had captained Mumbai Indians in the absence of Sachin.

If Sachin Tendulkar is absent, then it would be Harbhajan Singh who would be leading the side just like the last game. All eyes would be on the ongoing rivalry between Matthew Hayden, the Chennai Super Kings batsman, and Harbhajan Singh, the Mumbai Indians spinner. Well, it is not as bad as the rivalry between Harbhajan SIngh and Andrew Symonds for sure.

According to Dhoni, the start of DLF IPL has been just perfect. “The start has been great, Brendan McCullum’s batting has been a solid one. Fans also got what they wanted. They saw some huge sixes, dance by cheerleaders, teams piling up huge scores and bowlers taking wickets. It provided excitement for the fans.”

The Chennai Super Kings captain also rubbished the possibility of him opening the innings in tomorrow’s match. On the other hand, if Sachin Tendulkar is available for play tomorrow, we may get to see tendulkar opening with Sanath Jayasuriya – that would be an explosive combination.

And Afridi is keen to outsmart Brendon McCullum’s 73-ball 158 in IPL. McCullum took 53 balls to score his hundred against Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Shahid Afridi admits that it is not going to be an easy task but doesn’t hide the fact that he wants to give it a try. His skipper Shoiab Malik would play against him when Delhi Daredevils takes on Deccan Chargers.

But you know that cricket has a way of destroying such plans. Twenty20 can be exciting to watch, but the extra risks batsmen take make it tough for them to live long. We have to see how Afridi handles the pressure.

However, most cricket fans expected Indian heroes such as Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, M S Dhoni and Wasim Jaffer failed sympathetically in the first three matches of the IPL.

Meanwhile, these matches saw tremendous performance by three foreign players such as New Zealand’s Brendan McCullum, Australian star batsman Michael Hussey and Australian paceman Glenn McGrath.

Brendan McCullum has given a terrific start for the Indian Premier League by smashing a world record-high 158 not out for Kolkata in the opening Twenty20 shootout in Banglalore. This gave Kolkata Night Riders a comfortable victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The team owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has many foreign players as its members. After a lavish ceremony to mark the launch of the league all eyes were on this opening fixture all eyes were on the performance of Kolakta Knight Riders.

The New Zealand wicketkeeper had scored 158 not out for just 73 balls, including 13 sixes – the highest individual score in the first match of IPL extravaganza. Unfortunately his teammate and captain of the team Sourav Ganguly could not thrill his fans as he managed to score only 10 runs in the opening match.

In comparison, team-mates Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting managed just ten and 20 runs respectively, but Brendan McCullum’s efforts were enough to give the visitors a comfortable and ultimately unassailable lead.

However for the Bangalore Royal Challengers, most of the stars including Captain Rahul Dravid and foreign players such as Mark Boucher, Jacaues Kallis and White disappointed 55,000 odd people assembled in the ground expecting home side victory. The Bangalore local hero and former Indian team captain Rahul Dravid managed only two runs in the opening match.

It was a superb century from Australia’s Michael Hussey, which has helped star-studded Chennai Super Kings to a 33-run victory in their match against Punjab. Hussey, the world’s top-ranked Test batsman, produced a stunning innings of 116 not out from just 54 deliveries in their opening match. Another Chennai star, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakara has scored a 54 in a thrilling smash. However Chennai Super King’s captain and Indian cricket team captain M S Dhoni failed and was able to take only two runs in the opening match.

Obviously, Deccan Chargers captain VVS Laxman is impressed with the batting performance of Brendon McCullum. Laxman said when they get to the field today to lock horns with Knight Riders in Kolkata today with the home team, they would have a plan in hand to contain the explosive McCullum.

Laxman said, “I think it was an amazing innings. One of the best innings I have seen in this format of the game. The way he played he took away the game from the Bangalore Royal Challengers.”

Laxman and his team would keep in mind the Aussie’s performances, but they would mainly concentrate on the match situation, he said.

The Indian test batsman said, “We’ve got our plans worked out for him. But one has to keep in mind the fast-changing situations in Twenty20 cricket. You may have a plan one or plan two. But you have to keep judging by the situation you are in.”

Laxman seemed too impressed with the explosive Aussie. “I’m sure you will see more and more contributions from McCullum as the tourney progresses. The game became one-sided because of his brilliance.”

Brendon McCullum hit 13 sixes, smashed 158 in 73 balls and demolished Bangalore Royal Challengers in front of Vijay Mallya’s home crowd to guide Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders the first victory in the first match of the inaugural match of the DLF IPL Twenty20 championship.

So much was the domination of Brendon McCullum in the match that no other player from either sided is worthy of mention in the score card.

No player from Bangalore Royal Challengers crossed double digits with the exception of Praveen Kumar, who scored 18.

Brendon McCullum who had a Twenty20 strike rate of more than 121 finished the match with a strike rate of 216.43. Brendon McCullum was bought for $700,000 and that seems to be a modest sum given his heroics, showing scant respect for Bangalore Knight Riders attack.

Brendan McCullum, who opened with a distinctly scratchy Sourav Ganguly, is now at 113 runs off 59 balls. In this blistering innings, he distincly overshadowed all his batting partners, whether its a Ganguly or a Ricky Ponting. McCullum hit 8 fours and 8 sixes – and if he continues, may hit a few more!