On the opening day of the DLF Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders’ Brendon McCullum broke the world record in any Twenty20 match by scoring 158 not out against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in Bangalore. He obliterated the previous record of 141 not out made by Australia’s Cameron White for Somerset against Worcestershire at Worcester in July 2006

By achieving the score, McCullum also bettered the previous highest by a Black Cap batsman in this format of the game. Teammate Ross Taylor had made an unbeaten 111 for Central Districts against Northern Districts at Hamilton in January 2008

Incidentally, McCullum’s effort was also only the second three-figure score made in a Twenty20 match on Indian soil. Last season in April 2007, Rohit Sharma, playing for Mumbai, had made an unbeaten 101 against Gujarat at the Brabourne Stadium

McCullum, during the above knock, slammed 13 sixes — the most by any batsman in an innings in a Twenty20 match. He went past the previous record of 10 sixes by West Indies’ Chris Gayle against South Africa at Johannesburg in September last year

McCullum’s 13 sixes and 10 fours in Bangalore made him the only batsman in history to score more than 100 runs in boundaries. His run tally from fours and sixes was 118

The 140 run loss suffered by the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the opening match was the fourth largest in terms of runs in Twenty20 history

Chennai Super Kings’ 240/5 against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali was the highest ever total made on Indian soil. Incidentally, it was also the fourth highest total in history

Rajasthan Royals’ 217/7 during their victory over Deccan Chargers at Hyderabad while chasing 215 is the second highest total ever chased to win a Twenty20 game. Central Districts had made 220/4 while chasing Otago’s 219/4 at Dunedin in January 2006. Incidentally, the Rajasthan Royals became the first Indian team to successfully chase a target of over 200 runs

The encounter between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab at Mohali produced 447/9 in 40 overs. This effort just fell short of the record match aggregate of 449/9 between Worcestershire and Northamptonshire at Kidderminister in June 2007

The 16 sixes hit by the Chennai Super Kings batsmen during their match against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali equalled the world record for the most sixes hit by a team in Twenty20 cricket. Auckland had hit the same number of sixes against Central Districts at New Plymouth in January 2008.

In the match at Mohali, 25 sixes were hit which just fell short of the record 26 sixes in the Auckland-Central Districts game at New Plymouth

The Deccan Chargers-Rajasthan Royals’ encounter at Hyderabad saw 306 runs in just fours and sixes. The match produced 42 fours and 23 sixes, which was just one stroke away from the record 312 runs made in boundaries in the match between Worcestershire and Northamptonshire at Kidderminister in June 2007

Extras were the “highest scorer” in Bangalore Royal Challengers’ 82 against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Bangalore in the opening match. This provided the only sixth instance in the history of Twenty20 cricket where extras were the “highest scorer” in an innings.

In their match against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk, Mumbai Indians used eight bowlers. This is the first time in India that so many bowlers were used by a team in a Twenty20 match.

Andrew Symonds’ unbeaten 117 for Deccan Chargers against Rajasthan Royals is now the highest score made by any batsman while batting at No.4 in a Twenty20 match.

FASTEST 50

21 balls — Y. Pathan (Rajasthan Royals) vs Deccan Chargers

FASTEST 100

47 balls — Andrew Symonds (Deccan Chargers) vs Rajasthan Royals

MOST SIXES HIT

13 sixes (2 matches) — Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders)

MOST SIXES CONCEDED

9 sixes (3matches) — Andrew Symonds (Deccan Chargers)

HIGHEST TOTAL

240/5 — Chennai vs Punjab (Mohali, April 19, 2008)

HIGHEST TOTAL (BATTING 2ND)

217/7 (19.5 ovs) — Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad, April 24, 2008)

LOWEST TOTAL

82 — Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders (Bangalore, April 18, 2008)

HIGHEST MATCH AGGREGATE

447/9 — Chennai Super Kings (240/5) vs Kings XI Punjab (207/4), Mohali, April 19, 2008

Centuries — 3

90s — 2

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL SCORE

158* (73 balls) — McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders) vs Bangalore Royal Challengers (Bangalore, April 18, 2008)

LEADING RUN-GETTER

168 @ 56.00 — Kumar Sangakkara (Kings XI Punjab) in 3 matches

BEST BOWLING IN A MATCH

3/17 (3.4 ovs) — Murali Kartik (Kolkata) vs Hyderabad (Calcutta, April 20, 2008)

LEADING WICKET-TAKER

5 wickets each — Ajit Agarkar (Kol)/Shane Warne (Raj)/Harbhajan Singh (Mum)/Irfan Pathan (Pun)