Brendon McCullum slams fifty as Gujarat Lions start well against Mumbai Indians
Brendon McCullum scored his 12th IPL fifty when he scored 64 off 44 balls against Mumbai Indians.
Brendon McCullum struck a 36-ball half-century as Gujarat Lions got off to a brilliant start to their innings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. (LIVE BLOG)
Having lost Dwayne Smith in the first over itself, the swashbuckling Kiwi batsman steadied the ship for the Lions with captain Suresh Raina. (SCORECARD)
He began the carnage with a boundary off Jasprit Bumrah in the fifth over before launching Lasith Malinga for two gigantic sixes in the next over. While the first was a brilliant improvisation to slap a short ball over point, the next was a clean one over mid-wicket. That helped the Lions reach 46/1 at the end of the powerplay.
With the field spread out, McCullum and Raina then rotated the strike between them to keep the scoreboard ticking while picking up boundaries in between. He picked up two more boundaries near the mid-wicket region; one each of Harbhajan Singh and Krunal Pandya in successive overs.
He reached his half-century with a single down the leg-side amidst a thunderous cheer from the packed Wankhede crowd who couldn’t help but appreciate the brilliance of his knock.
McCullum was finally dismissed by Lasith Malinga after making 64 off 44 balls.