Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), jointly owned by Bollywood ‘Badshah’ Shah Rukh Khan and his heroine of many films Juhi Chawla, had won the IPL trophy twice (2012 & 2014) but hasn’t fared well since then. Let’s explore the possibilities of KKR winning its third title this year.

Led by Tamil Nadu’s wicket-keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, KKR has always been a star-studded team with a variety of stars from various international teams. Brendon McCullum’s blistering 158 for KKR in the very first match of the inaugural IPL tourney in 2008 still remains the highest individual score in IPL history. KKR was actually the only team which failed to qualify for the play-off stages during the first three editions of IPL (2008-10). 2009 was a nightmarish year for KKR which lost 9 of its 14 matches. KKR took a few years to recuperate and won the title twice in three years i.e. in 2012 and 2014.

Elusive trophy

In 2014-2015, KKR created a record of sorts by enjoying an unbeaten streak of 10 matches. KKR also holds the record for chasing the maximum runs (192 against CSK and 200 against KXIP) during its two title-winning performances.

The Sunil - Russel factor

Windies’ mystery spinning all-rounder Sunil Narine has represented KKR for a whopping 110 matches; he also has taken more wickets for KKR than anyone else.

Hard-hitting Andre Russel has won the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award twice (2015 & 2019); only Chris Gayle and Shane Watson have won this award more than twice.

KKR's 'MI' puzzle

KKR holds the dubious record losing maximum number of matches (19) against the same opponents (MI); in fact, KKR hasn’t managed to beat Mumbai Indians since 2013. Fans feel it is high time KKR management resolved the ‘MI’ mystery.

Shining stars

KKR is dependent mostly on senior players such as Narine, Karthik and Russel; England’s Eoin Morgan and Kiwi Lockie Ferguson are also promising stars. With the likes of Tom Benton and Shubman Gill waiting to make an impression in international cricket, KKR sure has fire-power with it; it is only that it hasn’t utilized this power enough. Will 2020 be the year for KKR to lift its 3rd title?

KKR Matches