IPL: The first ever happenings of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the league

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) stands as one of the three teams from the inaugural edition of the IPL who are yet to win a title in this format. They made it to the finals of 2009 and 2016 editions against Hyderabad franchises – DC and SRH. They ended up on the losing side on both the occasions. RCB also faced CSK in 2011 final but suffered a record loss. Their current skipper Virat Kohli remains as the only player in the IPL history to have played at least one game across all the editions of the league.

Here we look at the happenings of the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the first time in the history of IPL:

First run:

Rahul Dravid picked up a single on the first-ever ball faced by RCB in the IPL. Ashok Dinda was the bowler. (Over 0.1 – Inns No.2 vs KKR in Bangalore on April 18, 2008)

First four:

The first four of RCB was hit by Mark Boucher in the bowling of Ajit Agarkar. (Over 6.6 – Inns No.2 vs KKR in Bangalore on April 18, 2008)

First six:

Jacques Kallis hit RCB’s first six when he smashed Ajit Agarkar over the extra-cover fence. (Over 4.4 – Inns No.2 vs KKR in Bangalore on April 18, 2008)

First wicket and catch:

Zaheer Khan claimed the first wicket ever of the IPL when Sourav Ganguly edged one in the 6th over to the slips. Jacques Kallis completed the catch and became the first to take a catch in the league. (Over 5.2 – Inns No.1 vs KKR in Bangalore on April 18, 2008)

First stumping:

Mark Boucher affected the stumping of Robin Uthappa in the game against MI. Uthappa came down the track in the bowling off Balachandra Akhil to hit a boundary. It was the first-ever stumping dismissal of the IPL. (Over 16.5 – Inns No.1 vs MI in Mumbai on April 20, 2008)

First runout:

Zaheer Khan caught Sanath Jayasuriya short of the crease at the non-striker’s end when the left-arm pacer saw the Sri Lankan coming outside the crease trying for a non-existent run. (Over 5.4 – Inns No.1 vs MI in Mumbai on April 20, 2008)

First fifty:

Wasim Jaffer recorded the first individual fifty of RCB in the IPL during the match against CSK in 2008 where he scored 50 from 33 balls. (vs CSK in Chennai on April 28, 2008)

First century:

Manish Pandey made an unbeaten 114 from 73 balls towards the end of the league phase of 2009 IPL. (vs DC in Centurion on May 21, 2009)

First maiden over:

Praveen Kumar bowled a wicket maiden in the 2008 edition against KXIP where he got the wicket of Yuvraj Singh on the 3rd ball while Mahela Jayawardene played the remaining three balls. (11th Over – Inns No.2 vs RCB in Bangalore on May 5, 2008)

First 5-wicket haul:

The first-ever 5-wicket haul for RCB came during the 2009 season opener against Rajasthan Royals. Anil Kumble finished the match with figures of 3.1-1-6-5. (vs RR in Cape Town on April 18, 2009)

First hat-trick:

Praveen Kumar achieved RCB’s maiden IPL hat-trick against Rajasthan Royals where he got the wickets of Damien Martyn, Sumit Narwal and Paras Dogra. (17th Over – Inns No.1 vs RR in Bangalore on March 18, 2010)

First win:

RCB’s maiden win came against Mumbai Indians in their 2nd IPL match as they chased down 166 losing only five wickets. (vs MI in Mumbai on April 20, 2008)

First final:

The Royal Challengers Bangalore first made it to the final of the 2009 edition where they lost narrowly against Deccan Chargers. (vs MI in Johannesburg on May 24, 2009)