Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is a franchise cricket team based in Kolkata, India, which plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They were one of the eight teams that competed in the 2014 IPL. They were captained by Gautam Gambhir. Kolkata Knight Riders won the 2014 IPL and qualified for the Champions League T20.
Background As the 2014 IPL auctions began, Knight Riders only kept their skipper Gambhir and the spinner Sunil Narine. They bought back Jacques Kallis, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Manvinder Bisla and Ryan Ten Doeschate. New additions to the team were Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Chris Lynn along with some other uncapped and foreign players. KKR had a good start to the seventh edition in UAE, defeating defending champions Mumbai Indians in the inaugural match. However, their performance dipped and they won only 1 out of their next 4 games played there, including a super over tie against Rajasthan Royals, which they ultimately lost on a boundary count. Their poor form continued as they lost two more matches after they were back in India, making it five losses in seven games. The team changed their batting order, promoting Robin Uthappa as an opener which worked very well as he became the highest run scorer in the tournament with 660 runs. He also scored 40+ runs in 10 consecutive matches. Sunil Narine continued his great run, being the second highest wicket taker. Knight Riders recovered from the losing streak, winning each of their next 7 games. In their last group game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Yusuf Pathan blitzed his way to a half century off just 15 balls, which is a record in the IPL. After the group stage, they were tied at 18 points with Chennai Super Kings but beat them to the second place in points table by a better net run rate.
They played the first Qualifier at their home ground Eden Gardens against Kings XI Punjab which they won by 28 runs and entered the final for the second time in their history. In the final at Bengaluru, they met Kings XI Punjab again and defeated them by 3 wickets in a thrilling match chasing a mammoth 200, with local boy Manish Pandey delivering his best knock of the season with a brilliant 94 in 50 balls, to win their second title in 3 years. The victory was celebrated grandly in a similar fashion to their 2012 Indian Premier League title win.
Squad Players with international caps prior to the start of the 2014 season are listed in bold. No. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes Batsmen1 Manish Pandey Right-handed Right-arm off break 23 Gautam Gambhir Left-handed Right-arm leg break Captain37 Robin Uthappa Right-handed Right-arm medium Occasional wicketkeeper50 Chris Lynn Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Overseas63 Debabrata Das Right-handed Right-arm leg break Occasional wicketkeeper212 Suryakumar Yadav Right-handed Right-arm medium All-rounders3 Jacques Kallis Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium Overseas9 Yusuf Pathan Right-handed Right-arm off break 12 Andre Russell Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium Overseas27 Ryan ten Doeschate Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Overseas75 Shakib Al Hasan Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Overseas Wicket-keepers36 Manvinder Bisla Right-handed Bowlers19 Umesh Yadav Right-handed Right-arm fast 21 Piyush Chawla Left-handed Right-arm leg break 23 Vinay Kumar Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast 30 Pat Cummins Right-handed Right-arm fast Overseas65 Morne Morkel Left-handed Right-arm fast Overseas74 Sunil Narine Left-handed Right-arm off break Overseas Sayan Mondal Left-handed Right-arm medium-fast Veer Pratap Singh Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Kuldeep Yadav Left-handed Slow left-arm chinaman
Indian Premier League Season standings Kolkata Knight Riders finished winners in the league stage of IPL 2014.
Match log No.DateOpponentVenueResultScorecard 1 Mumbai Indians Abu Dhabi Won by 41 Runs, MoM - Jacques Kallis 72(46) Score Card 2 Delhi Daredevils Dubai Lost by 4 Wickets Score Card 3 Royal Challengers Bangalore Sharjah Won by 2 Runs, MoM - Chris Lynn 45(31) Score Card 4 Kings XI Punjab Abu Dhabi Lost by 24 Runs Score Card 5 Rajasthan Royals Abu Dhabi Match Tied; Super Over Tied; Lost by Boundary Count Score Card 6 Chennai Super Kings Ranchi Lost by 35 Runs Score Card 7 Rajasthan Royals Ahmedabad Lost by 10 Runs Score Card 8 Delhi Daredevils New Delhi Won by 8 Wickets, MoM - Gautam Gambhir 69(56) Score Card 9 Kings XI Punjab Cuttack Won by 9 Wickets, MoM - Gautam Gambhir 63(45) Score Card 10 Mumbai Indians Cuttack Won by 6 Wickets, MoM - Robin Uthappa 80(52) Score Card 11 Sunrisers Hyderabad Hyderabad Won by 7 Wickets, MoM - Umesh Yadav 3/26 (4 Overs) Score Card 12 Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Won by 8 Wickets, MoM - Robin Uthappa 67(39) Score Card 13 Royal Challengers Bangalore Kolkata Won by 30 Runs, MoM - Robin Uthappa 83(51) Score Card 14 Sunrisers Hyderabad Kolkata Won by 4 Wickets, MoM - Yusuf Pathan 72(22) Score Card 15 Kings XI Punjab (Qualifier 1) Kolkata Won by 28 Runs, MoM - Umesh Yadav 3/13 (4 Overs) Score Card 16 Kings XI Punjab (Final) Bangalore Won by 3 Wickets, MoM – Manish Pandey 94(50) Score Card Overall record: 11–5. Champions. Qualified for 2014 Champions League Twenty20.
Champions League Twenty20 Match log No.DateOpponentVenueResultScorecard 1 17 September Chennai Super Kings Hyderabad Won by 3 wickets, MoM - Andre Russell 58 (25) and 0/12 (1 over) Scorecard 2 21 September Lahore Lions Hyderabad Won by 4 wickets, MoM - Sunil Narine 3/9 (4 overs) Scorecard 3 24 September Perth Scorchers Hyderabad Won by 3 wickets, MoM - Kuldeep Yadav 3/24 (4 overs), 1 catch Scorecard 4 29 September Dolphinss Hyderabad Won by 36 runs, MoM - Robin Uthappa 85 (55) Scorecard 5 2 October (Semifinal) Hobart Hurricanes Hyderabad Won by 7 wickets, MoM - Jacques Kallis 54* (40) Scorecard 6 4 October (Final) Chennai Super Kings Bangalore Lost By 8 Wickets ScorecardOverall record: 5–1. Runners-up.
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