The beginning of the IPL. It was the year 2008, and the first-ever match was between Bangalore’s RCB and Kolkata. Two legendary captains faced each other — Rahul Dravid for RCB and Sourav Ganguly for KKR.
In that very match, a 20-year-old youngster was playing for RCB. He had never played in a packed stadium before. That youngster was none other than Virat Kohli.
During the match, Kohli’s Delhi teammate Ishant Sharma, who was playing for Kolkata, tried to interrupt him. Virat replied, “Come to the side, I’ll tell you.” Now, 17 years later, King Kohli himself has shared this story.
McCullum’s Storm in the First IPL Match
In the first-ever IPL match in 2008, Kolkata Knight Riders scored a massive 222 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 20 overs. This was made possible by Brendon McCullum’s explosive unbeaten knock of 158 runs.
Dravid Dismissed Early, Kohli Came to Bat
RCB captain Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer opened the innings. But Ishant Sharma bowled Dravid on the first ball of his spell — the second over of the innings. After that, a young Virat Kohli came to the crease.
Virat Shared the Story After 17 Years
Now, 17 years later, Virat Kohli has recalled that moment on JioCinema’s show 18 Calling 18. He revealed how Ishant Sharma was constantly sledging him during the match.
“Come to the Side, I’ll Tell You…”
Virat said, “He had just returned from Australia. He had dyed his hair and looked like a star. He kept commenting on me. I told him — come to the side, I’ll tell you. But it was all in good fun.”
He added, “I was under a lot of pressure in that match. I had never played in such a packed stadium before. I still remember how nervous I was while taking guard. The crowd, the environment — everything felt new. Even though I had played a lot of cricket with Ishant before, that day, he looked like a different kind of bowler. That’s how intense the pressure was.”
Kohli Got Out Early, and RCB Crushed
In that match, Kohli could score only 1 run from 5 balls. After Ishant’s over, Ashok Dinda bowled the next over and dismissed him. RCB was all out for just 82 runs in 15.1 overs. Kolkata Knight Riders won the match by a huge margin of 140 runs.
