Here are some of our favourite moments from the Indian Premier League (IPL)

The 17^th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is already in progress and so far, we have seen a number of brilliant batting and bowling performances overshadowing the miracles of the yesteryear. However, given we have grown up watching the tournament since 2008, we believe in the phrase ‘Old is Gold’ and therefore, we have some OG favourite moments. In the following paragraphs, we have listed our favourite moment in the IPL since its inception.

Gayle’s 175*

This is the universe boss’s defining moment; ignore the triples in tests and the double in the World Cup. As the record holder for runs scored and century makers in the shortest format, Gayle can genuinely posit that he is the best batsman the format has ever seen.

In this match against the Pune Warriors, he was also at his most dangerous. At the halfway point of the inning, 200 didn’t seem far-fetched. He was forced to make do with 25 runs less and several records, including the highest individual and team scores in T20 innings, the most sixes, and the fastest hundred in specialist cricket.

Chris Gayle celebrating his historic IPL inning

Tendulkar and Ponting open for Mumbai

Cricketers from India and Australia don’t always get along, but when they do, it can be lethal. But nothing surpasses Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, who have combined for 171 international hundreds and open for the Mumbai Indians.

MuttiahMuralitharan, who has 1,347 international wickets, bowled the sixth over of this game to fulfill the dream. We were in a state of pure ecstasy when Sachin showed off that straight drive.

McCullum’s 158* in the first match of the IPL

The IPL initially raised a lot of queries. Was this the start of the decline of international cricket’s dominance? What would become of the treasured ODIs? Why was Cameron White purchased for a higher price than Shane Warne?

We were all anxiously awaiting what would happen as Brendon McCullum got ready for the first game of the season. And Bazz's incredible first effort of 158 off 73 balls with 10 fours, and 13 sixes. It was the format’s highest individual score for a long time. Buzz made one thing clear: wherever he was going, it would be a tough road to reach it for anyone else.

One of the earliest of Kolkata’s Knights marking his arrival with a brilliant knock

Shoaib Akhtar’s debut spell

The Rawalpindi Express gave another demonstration of his terrifying abilities during his IPL debut at Eden Gardens, the venue where he had bowled Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar with sequential yorkers a decade earlier as Pakistan won an iconic Test match.

Shoaib was unaffected by the subtleties of slower balls, at least this time. Rather, KKR expertly held off Delhi’s top four, including Sehwag, Gambhir, and de Villiers, with a barrage of fastballs.