Wow. We are half way through the first game and already we have seen some amazing cricket.

There has also been a lot of spectacle. We’ve been getting highlights of the opening ceremony, which looks to have been a great event. And the Indians have gone all out for show during the game as well. There are cheerleaders, which will doubtless annoy some of the crusties at the MCC. Bangalore’s team (the Royal Challengers, named after a whiskey produced by the team’s owners) play in red and gold, and if you think that some of their cheerleaders look more African than Indian you’d be right. They have been hired from the Washington Redskins.

Meanwhile, the game. The Challengers won the toss and elected to field. They were then subjected to an amazing onslaught from Brendon McCullum who hit 158* off 73 balls, including ten 4s and thirteen 6s. That’s the highest score ever made in a Twenty20 game, beating the previous record of 141* set by Cameron White for Somerset against Worcestershire. White was playing for the Challengers side and bowled one over, which McCullum slammed for 24 runs. He’ll remember that Somerset lost the game in which he set the record, thanks mainly to 97 from Graeme Hick.

The Kolkata Knight Riders are owned by a group of Bollywood stars headed by Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. The owners are there at the game and clearly loving it. They won’t regret a penny of the $800,000 they spent on McCullum’s contract. And it adds a lot to the game to see them getting so excited. For a comparison, imagine a Los Angeles baseball team called the Catalina Pirates owned by Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.

Anyway, the Challengers have started batting, so I need to get back to the TV. They are chasing 223 for victory. It will be an amazing feat if they get it. Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher will be key, I think.