Get Newsletter
Notification products, updates
×
×Notification products, updates
August 15, 2024
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are a cricket team representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team is owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, actress Juhi Chawla, and her husband Jay Mehta. They play their home games at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
KKR gained fame with celebrity ownership and made it to the IPL playoffs in 2011. They won their first IPL title in 2012 by defeating the Chennai Super Kings and repeated their success in 2014 by beating Punjab Kings. In 2024, KKR won their third title by defeating the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team holds the record for the longest winning streak in IPL history, with 14 consecutive wins.
While Sunil Narine is their leading wicket-taker, Gautam Gambhir is KKR’s top run-scorer. The team’s motto is “Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo,” which means “We will perform, fight, and win!” Their official colors are purple and gold.
In 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched the Indian Premier League (IPL), a cricket tournament using the Twenty20 format. The first IPL season lasted from April to June 2008, featuring eight teams. These teams, each representing a different city in India, were auctioned in Mumbai on February 20, 2008.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s company, Red Chillies Entertainment, bought the Kolkata team in partnership with actress Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta. The purchase price was $75.09 million, or about ₹2.98 billion. Sourav Ganguly, a former Indian national team captain and a native of West Bengal, was named the team’s Icon player. The team’s name, Kolkata Knight Riders, is inspired by the 1980s American TV show Knight Rider.
In 2022, Forbes ranked the Kolkata Knight Riders as the third most valuable team in the IPL, with a valuation of $1.1 billion. They trail only behind Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
When the Kolkata Knight Riders first launched in 2008, their logo featured a golden Viking helmet on a black background, with the team name in gold beside it. By the third season, the background color was changed to purple. In 2012, the logo was updated to include a purple Corinthian helmet with gold trim and the team name inside a shield.
The team’s original tagline was “All the King’s Men,” used for the first four seasons. In the fifth season, it changed to “New Dawn, New Knights.” The official team colors were black and gold in the early seasons, symbolizing life and the Goddess Kali, according to Shah Rukh Khan. These colors were later changed to purple and gold in the third season and have remained since. The team’s jerseys were designed by Bollywood fashion designer Manish Malhotra.
The team’s central theme, “Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re” (meaning “we will act, fight, and win!”), was composed by the music duo Vishal-Shekhar. A unique Knight Riders album featuring various singers and composers, including Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri, was also released.
Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders are two major IPL teams. Mumbai Indians, based in Mumbai, are the most successful franchise with five championships. Until Mumbai’s third title, both teams had won two championships each. In the first two IPL seasons, Mumbai won all four matches against Kolkata. Kolkata’s first victory over Mumbai came in the 2010 season. Both teams have been led by Indian cricket legends—Sachin Tendulkar for Mumbai and Sourav Ganguly for Kolkata. Mumbai has generally dominated the rivalry, winning 22 matches to Kolkata’s seven, and they have met twice in the playoffs.
2011, they faced each other for the first time in the playoffs. Mumbai won the Eliminator match by four wickets but lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the next round. In 2012, Kolkata knocked Mumbai out of the playoffs. Kolkata’s batting struggled early, but they ended with 140/7. Mumbai, starting strong at 60/2, collapsed to 108 all out. Sunil Narine’s four wickets earned him Man of the Match, and KKR won their first championship. Shah Rukh Khan, KKR’s owner, was banned from Wankhede Stadium for five years for a post-match altercation, but the ban was lifted in 2015.
In the 2015 season opener, Mumbai scored 168/3 with Rohit Sharma’s 98 runs. Still, Kolkata chased down the target with Gautam Gambhir’s 57 runs and Suryakumar Yadav’s 46 runs. In 2017, Mumbai won their 100th T20 match against Kolkata, and later that season, Mumbai won the Qualifier 2 round match to advance to the finals and secure their third championship.
Mumbai Indians dominated Kolkata from 2015 to 2018, winning eight consecutive games. However, on April 29, 2019, Kolkata broke the streak with a 232-run total, winning by 34 runs. Andre Russell scored 80 runs for KKR, while Hardik Pandya scored 91 for MI. This match set the record for the highest total at Eden Gardens and was KKR’s 100th T20 win. Since then, Mumbai has won all three subsequent games between the teams. In the 2022 and 2024 seasons, Kolkata defeated Mumbai in all their encounters.
The rivalry between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is among the oldest in the IPL. Their first-ever match in the inaugural IPL season saw KKR win by 140 runs, thanks to a stunning 158* from Brendon McCullum.
In the 2009 IPL, RCB won both their matches against KKR. In one of these games, Ross Taylor played a standout innings, scoring 81* off 33 balls to help RCB win by six wickets.
During the 2012 IPL season, KKR, struggling in the lower half of the table, faced RCB in a crucial match. KKR’s captain, Gautam Gambhir, scored 93 runs off 51 balls, leading his team to 160. Despite Chris Gayle’s 86 runs off 58 balls, RCB fell short. In their subsequent encounter, Gambhir scored again, and with Lakshmipathy Balaji’s 4/18, KKR won comfortably.
In 2015, rain reduced the match to just 10 overs per side. KKR scored 111/4, thanks to Andre Russell’s 45 off 17 balls. RCB struggled, but Mandeep Singh’s 45 off 18 balls kept them in the game. Despite a strong start, RCB lost to KKR.
In 2017, KKR and RCB faced off twice. In their first match, KKR dismissed RCB for 49 runs, the lowest total in IPL history. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin de Grandhomme, and Chris Woakes each took three wickets. In their second meeting, Sunil Narine scored the then-fastest fifty in IPL history (50 off 15 balls), and KKR quickly chased down RCB’s total.
The 2019 season saw RCB’s Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers score 84 and 63 runs, respectively, totaling 205/3. KKR, initially strong, struggled but was rescued by Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell. Russell’s explosive 48 off 13 balls, including a 23-run over, secured the win for KKR.
In their subsequent match, RCB’s Virat Kohli scored his fifth IPL century, hitting 100 runs off 58 balls, and Moeen Ali added 66 runs off 28 balls, leading RCB to 213 runs. Despite Nitish Rana’s 85 and Andre Russell’s 65 for KKR, RCB won by 10 runs, with Kohli named Man of the Match.
The Kolkata Knight Riders play their home matches at Eden Gardens, a significant cricket stadium in Kolkata. Owned by the Cricket Association of Bengal, Eden Gardens was once the largest cricket stadium in India, with a seating capacity of over 90,000.
2011, the stadium underwent renovations to meet International Cricket Council standards for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. This reduced its capacity to about 68,000. The upgrades included a new clubhouse, improved player facilities, a revamped exterior wall, a new metal roof, and other infrastructure enhancements.
In 2013, two of KKR’s home matches were held at the JSCA International Cricket Stadium in Ranchi.
Kolkata Knight Riders Batters: Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nitish Rana, Sherfane Rutherford, Phil Salt, K.S Bharat, Manish Pandey and Angkrish Raghuvanshi
Kolkata Knight Riders All-Rounders: Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russel, Venkatesh Iyer
Kolkata Knight Riders Bowlers: Suyash Sharma, Allah Ghazanfar, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Mitchell Starc and Chetan Sakariya
In the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) emerged as the top team against Sunrisers Hyderabad, clinching the championship with a remarkable performance throughout the season. Led by a strong squad, KKR showcased consistent dominance in both batting and bowling, overcoming formidable opponents to secure their third IPL title. Their victory solidified their position as one of the league’s most successful franchises. It marked a triumphant return to the top after years of fierce competition. KKR’s achievement in 2024 highlighted their resilience, strategy, and star performances, making them the standout team of the season.
Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and cricket sportsbook app reviews. As an author for The Wicket Insider, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for cricket, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
Stay Tuned With Updates
