Cricketer of the Week (April 8-13): Brendon McCullum
It’s been nearly a week since the eighth edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) started and we have already seen some excellent performances from a number of players – KKR’s Gautam Gambhir scoring two consecutive fifties against MI and RCB, MI’s Rohit Sharma scoring a brilliaint but futile 98 against KKR, RCB’s Chris Gayle destroying KKR and single handedly taking his team to victory with his 96. But it is CSK’s Brendon McCullum who wins the Cricketer of the Week for his stupendous display of power hitting 9 sixes, scoring the first hundred of the tournament, in the process crushing SRH. He is just behind KKR captain Gambhir in race for the Orange Cap.
CSK opened their account in Pepsi IPL 2015 with a 1-run win over the DD at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. CSK registered their second win of IPL when they defeated SRH by 45 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Mccullum was the star of the show scoring a quick fire century of 56 balls. After posting 209 batting first, the hosts restricted their opponents to 164-6.
McCullum, the wicket-keeper batsman, lit up the Chepauk – a venue where he had only scored 69 runs in six previous IPL innings – with his second IPL hundred after CSK captain MS Dhoni won an important toss. His decision was fully backed by McCullum who batted throughout the innings, bludgeoning seven fours and nine massive sixes.
Brendon had earlier scored IPL's first century (158 not out) against RCB in the first edition of the T20 tournament.
McCullum powers through to last-ball century
He put on a 75-run opening wicket stand with West Indian Dwayne Smith (27) and followed it up with a 60-run second-wicket partnership with newly married Suresh Raina (14).That set up a strong platform for CSK to post a strong total and the McCullum-Dhoni third-wicket stand capitalised on it superbly, putting on a 63-run partnership.
McCullum was ruthless on the SRH bowlers and got to his half-century off 38 balls. He was particularly severe on Ishant Sharma, who he hit for 30 runs off 12 balls.
McCullum, unable to get any strike in the last few overs of the innings, needed to score 11 off the final three deliveries to get to his century.
He stepped out and danced around the crease which forced his national teammate Boult to bowl a full toss. Mccullum then lifted the ball straight over his shoulder and the wicket-keeper’s head for a six. The following delivery he picked up a boundary through third man and ended the innings with a quick single that would give take him to the hundred.
Both Dhoni and SRH captain Warner gave credit to McCullum for his fantastic performance.
McCullum was declared Man of the Match for his swashbuckling 100* and he said, “It's obviously pretty good. Today's performance was very good from us. One guy gets a hundred and it always helps, but the partnerships were the key here. It's been long since I made a sizeable contribution, but it's good for me.”