# 2019 Kolkata Knight Riders season

The 2019 season was the 12th season for the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. They were one of the eight teams that competed in the 2019 IPL. They finished the season in the fifth place. The team was captained by Dinesh Karthik and coached by Jacques Henry Kallis with Simon Matthew Katich as assistant coach, Omkar Salvia as bowling coach and Abhishek Mohan Nair as mentor

## Background
### Player retention and auction

In November 2018, the Knight Riders announced their list of retained players for the 2019 season. The list included Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
On 18 December 2018, the IPL player auction was held in which the Knight Riders signed up nine more players viz., Carlos Brathwaite, Lockie Ferguson, Joe Denly, Harry Gurney, Nikhil Naik, Shrikant Mundhe, Prithvi Raj Yarra and Anrich Nortje.

### Team analysis

ESPNcricinfo's Sreshth Shah predicted the Knight Riders to qualify for the playoffs and listed the team's strengths to be its "power-hitters", Dinesh Karthik's role as captain and finisher, and its spin bowlers' effectiveness. He also pointed out that the team has an "inexperienced pace attack" which had taken the fewest wickets and had the worst economy rate among all teams in the previous season. Hindustan Times wrote in its team preview that "anything less than play-offs will be seen as a failure" for the Knight Riders while also saying that winning the title in 2019 "may just be a step too far" for the team. Firstpost called Andre Russell the "fulcrum of the side" and acknowledged the "variety and depth in the squad." Suggesting the strength of the team to be its spin bowling department, News18 wrote "The variety the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla bring to the playing XI is unmatchable."

## Squad

* Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Year signed | Salary | Notes |
| Batsmen |||||||||
| 6 | Joe Denly | England | (1986-03-16) 16 March 1986 (age 38) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | 2019 | ₹1 crore (US$120,000) | Overseas |
| 27 | Nitish Rana | India | (1993-12-27) 27 December 1993 (age 30) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹3.4 crore (US$407,000) | |
| 35 | Rinku Singh | India | (1997-10-12) 12 October 1997 (age 27) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹80 lakh (US$96,000) | |
| 37 | Robin Uthappa | India | (1985-09-11) 11 September 1985 (age 39) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 2018 | ₹6.4 crore (US$767,000) | Vice-captain; Occasional wicket-keeper |
| 50 | Chris Lynn | Australia | (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990 (age 34) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2018 | ₹9.6 crore (US$1.2 million) | Overseas |
| 77 | Shubman Gill | India | (1999-09-08) 8 September 1999 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹1.8 crore (US$216,000) | |
| All-rounders |||||||||
| 12 | Andre Russell | Jamaica | (1988-04-29) 29 April 1988 (age 36) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2018 | ₹7 crore (US$838,732.40) | Overseas |
| 26 | Carlos Brathwaite | Barbados | (1988-07-18) 18 July 1988 (age 36) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2019 | ₹5 crore (US$600,000) | Overseas |
| 74 | Sunil Narine | Trinidad and Tobago | (1988-05-26) 26 May 1988 (age 36) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹8.5 crore (US$1.0 million) | Overseas |
| — | Kamlesh Nagarkoti | India | (1999-12-28) 28 December 1999 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2018 | ₹3.2 crore (US$383,000) | |
| — | Shrikant Mundhe | India | (1988-10-27) 27 October 1988 (age 36) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2019 | ₹20 lakh (US$24,000) | |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||||
| 7 | Nikhil Naik | India | (1994-11-09) 9 November 1994 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2019 | ₹20 lakh (US$24,000) | |
| 19 | Dinesh Karthik | India | (1985-06-01) 1 June 1985 (age 39) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2018 | ₹7.4 crore (US$886,659.90) | Captain |
| Bowlers |||||||||
| 11 | Harry Gurney | England | (1986-10-25) 25 October 1986 (age 38) | Right-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | 2019 | ₹75 lakh (US$90,000) | Overseas |
| 21 | Piyush Chawla | India | (1988-12-24) 24 December 1988 (age 35) | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break googly | 2018 | ₹4.2 crore (US$503,000) | |
| 23 | Kuldeep Yadav | India | (1994-12-14) 14 December 1994 (age 30) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm wrist-spin | 2018 | ₹5.8 crore (US$695,000) | |
| 25 | Prithvi Raj Yarra | India | (1998-02-20) 20 February 1998 (age 26) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | 2019 | ₹20 lakh (US$24,000) | |
| 32 | Shivam Mavi | India | (1998-11-26) 26 November 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2018 | ₹3 crore (US$359,000) | |
| 43 | Prasidh Krishna | India | (1996-02-19) 19 February 1996 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2018 | ₹20 lakh (US$24,000) | |
| 63 | Sandeep Warrier | India | (1991-04-04) 4 April 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2019 | ₹20 lakh (US$24,000) | |
| 69 | Lockie Ferguson | New Zealand | (1991-06-13) 13 June 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2019 | ₹1.6 crore (US$190,000) | Overseas |
| 94 | K. C. Cariappa | India | (1994-04-13) 13 April 1994 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | 2019 | ₹20 lakh (US$24,000) | |
| — | Anrich Nortje | South Africa | (1993-11-16) 16 November 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | 2019 | ₹20 lakh (US$24,000) | Overseas |
| — | Matt Kelly | Australia | (1994-12-07) 7 December 1994 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | 2019 | Replacement signing | Overseas |

## Coaching and support staff

* Head coach – Jacques Kallis
* Assistant coach – Simon Katich
* Bowling coach – Omkar Salvi
* Spin bowling coach - Carl Crowe
* Team manager - Wayne Bentley
* Strength and conditioning coach – Adrian le Roux
* Physiotherapist – Andrew Leipus
Ref

## Match results
### League stage

* 24 March 16:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| Sunrisers Hyderabad 181/3 (20 overs) | v | Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 183/4 (19.4 overs) |
| David Warner 85 (53) Andre Russell 2/32 (3 overs) | | Nitish Rana 68 (47) Rashid Khan 1/26 (4 overs) |
* Kolkata won by 6 wickets Eden Gardens, Kolkata Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Chris Gaffaney (NZ) Player of the match: Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)
* Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
* 27 March 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Kolkata Knight Riders 218/4 (20 overs) | v | Kings XI Punjab 190/4 (20 overs) |
| Robin Uthappa 67* (50) Varun Chakravarthy 1/35 (3 overs) | | David Miller 59* (40) Andre Russell 2/21 (3 overs) |
* Kolkata won by 28 runs Eden Gardens, Kolkata Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Vineet Kulkarni (Ind) Player of the match: Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)
* Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to field.
* Varun Chakravarthy (Kings XI Punjab) made his T20 debut. His first over went for 25 runs, the highest number of runs conceded by a bowler on debut in the IPL.
* Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) played in his 100th IPL match.
* Kolkata Knight Riders made their highest total at home in the IPL.
* 30 March 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| Kolkata Knight Riders 185/8 (20 overs) | v | Delhi Capitals (H) 185/6 (20 overs) |
| Andre Russell 62 (28) Harshal Patel 2/40 (4 overs) | | Prithvi Shaw 99 (55) Kuldeep Yadav 2/41 (4 overs) |
* Match tied (Delhi won the Super Over) Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi Umpires: Anil Dandekar (Ind) and Nitin Menon (Ind) Player of the match: Prithvi Shaw (Delhi Capitals)
* Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field.
* 5 April 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Royal Challengers Bangalore 205/3 (20 overs) | v | Kolkata Knight Riders 206/5 (19.1 overs) |
| Virat Kohli 84 (49) Nitish Rana 1/22 (2 overs) | | Andre Russell 48* (13) Pawan Negi 2/21 (3.1 overs) |
* Kolkata won by 5 wickets M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Chris Gaffaney (NZ) Player of the match: Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)
* Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
* 7 April 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Rajasthan Royals 139/3 (20 overs) | v | Kolkata Knight Riders 140/2 (13.5 overs) |
| Steve Smith 73* (59) Harry Gurney 2/25 (4 overs) | | Chris Lynn 50 (32) Shreyas Gopal 2/35 (4 overs) |
* Kolkata won by 8 wickets Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Chris Gaffaney (NZ) Player of the match: Harry Gurney (Kolkata Knight Riders)
* Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
* 9 April 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| Kolkata Knight Riders 108/9 (20 overs) | v | Chennai Super Kings (H) 111/3 (17.2 overs) |
| Andre Russell 50* (44) Deepak Chahar 3/20 (4 overs) | | Faf du Plessis 43* (45) Sunil Narine 2/24 (3.2 overs) |
* Chennai won by 7 wickets M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Umpires: Chettithody Shamshuddin (Ind) and Rod Tucker (Aus) Player of the match: Deepak Chahar (Chennai Super Kings)
* Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
* 12 April 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Kolkata Knight Riders 178/7 (20 overs) | v | Delhi Capitals 180/3 (18.5 overs) |
| Shubman Gill 65 (39) Chris Morris 2/38 (4 overs) | | Shikhar Dhawan 97* (63) Nitish Rana 1/12 (2 overs) |
* Delhi won by 7 wickets Eden Gardens, Kolkata Umpires: Yeshwant Barde (Ind) and C. K. Nandan (Ind) Player of the match: Shikhar Dhawan (Delhi Capitals)
* Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field.
* 14 April 16:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Kolkata Knight Riders 161/8 (20 overs) | v | Chennai Super Kings 162/5 (19.4 overs) |
| Chris Lynn 82 (51) Imran Tahir 4/27 (4 overs) | | Suresh Raina 58* (42) Sunil Narine 2/19 (4 overs) |
* Chennai won by 5 wickets Eden Gardens, Kolkata Umpires: C. K. Nandan (Ind) and Rod Tucker (Aus) Player of the match: Imran Tahir (Chennai Super Kings)
* Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to field.
* 19 April 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| Royal Challengers Bangalore 213/4 (20 overs) | v | Kolkata Knight Riders (H) 203/5 (20 overs) |
| Virat Kohli 100 (58) Andre Russell 1/17 (3 overs) | | Nitish Rana 85* (46) Dale Steyn 2/40 (4 overs) |
* Bangalore won by 10 runs Eden Gardens, Kolkata Umpires: Ian Gould (Eng) and Nitin Menon (Ind) Player of the match: Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
* Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
* 21 April 16:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| Kolkata Knight Riders 159/8 (20 overs) | v | Sunrisers Hyderabad (H) 161/1 (15 overs) |
| Chris Lynn 51 (47) Khaleel Ahmed 3/33 (4 overs) | | Jonny Bairstow 80* (43) Prithvi Raj 1/29 (3 overs) |
* Hyderabad won by 9 wickets Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad Umpires: Nigel Llong (Eng) and Nitin Menon (Ind) Player of the match: Khaleel Ahmed (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
* Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to field.
* 25 April 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Kolkata Knight Riders 175/6 (20 overs) | v | Rajasthan Royals 177/7 (19.2 overs) |
| Dinesh Karthik 97* (50) Varun Aaron 2/20 (4 overs) | | Riyan Parag 47 (31) Piyush Chawla 3/20 (4 overs) |
* Rajasthan won by 3 wickets Eden Gardens, Kolkata Umpires: Anil Dandekar (Ind) and Ian Gould (Eng) Player of the match: Varun Aaron (Rajasthan Royals)
* Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to field.
* 28 April 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Kolkata Knight Riders 232/2 (20 overs) | v | Mumbai Indians 198/7 (20 overs) |
| Andre Russell 80* (40) Hardik Pandya 1/31 (3 overs) | | Hardik Pandya 91 (34) Andre Russell 2/25 (4 overs) |
* Kolkata won by 34 runs Eden Gardens, Kolkata Umpires: Ian Gould (Eng) and Nitin Menon (Ind) Player of the match: Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders)
* Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field.
* 3 May 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| (H) Kings XI Punjab 183/6 (20 overs) | v | Kolkata Knight Riders 185/3 (18 overs) |
| Sam Curran 55* (24) Sandeep Warrier 2/31 (4 overs) | | Shubman Gill 65* (49) Mohammed Shami 1/15 (3 overs) |
* Kolkata won by 7 wickets Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali Umpires: Bruce Oxenford (Aus) and Chettithody Shamshuddin (Ind) Player of the match: Shubman Gill (Kolkata Knight Riders)
* Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
* 5 May 20:00 (D/N) Scorecard
| Kolkata Knight Riders 133/7 (20 overs) | v | Mumbai Indians (H) 134/1 (16.1 overs) |
| Chris Lynn 41 (29) Lasith Malinga 3/35 (4 overs) | | Rohit Sharma 55* (48) Prasidh Krishna 1/22 (3 overs) |
* Mumbai won by 9 wickets Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Umpires: Nand Kishore (Ind) and C. K. Nandan (Ind) Player of the match: Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians)
* Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field.
* Sunrisers Hyderabad qualified for the playoffs, becoming the first team ever to qualify with only 12 points, Kolkata Knight Riders were eliminated and Mumbai Indians advanced to Qualifier 1 as a result of this match.

## Statistics
### Most runs

| No. | Name | Match | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave. | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 0 | 4s | 6s |
| 1 | Andre Russell | 14 | 13 | 4 | 510 | 80* | 56.66 | 249 | 204.81 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 52 |
| 2 | Chris Lynn | 13 | 13 | 0 | 405 | 82 | 31.15 | 290 | 133.12 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 41 | 22 |
| 3 | Nitish Rana | 14 | 11 | 2 | 344 | 85* | 34.40 | 235 | 146.38 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 21 |
| 4 | Shubman Gill | 14 | 13 | 4 | 296 | 76 | 32.88 | 238 | 124.36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 10 |
| 5 | Robin Uthappa | 12 | 11 | 3 | 282 | 67* | 31.33 | 245 | 115.10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 10 |
* Source:Cricinfo

### Most wickets

| No. | Name | Match | Inns | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | BBI | Ave. | Econ. | SR | 4W | 5W |
| 1 | Andre Russell | 14 | 12 | 28.0 | 0 | 287 | 11 | 2/21 | 26.09 | 9.51 | 16.4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Sunil Narine | 12 | 12 | 44.2 | 1 | 347 | 10 | 2/19 | 34.70 | 7.82 | 26.6 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Piyush Chawla | 13 | 13 | 44.3 | 0 | 399 | 10 | 3/20 | 39.90 | 8.96 | 26.7 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Harry Gurney | 8 | 4 | 27.0 | 0 | 238 | 7 | 2/25 | 34.00 | 8.81 | 23.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Kuldeep Yadav | 9 | 9 | 33.0 | 0 | 286 | 4 | 2/41 | 71.50 | 8.66 | 49.5 | 0 | 0 |
* Source:Cricinfo

## Awards and achievements

| No. | Date | Player | Opponent | Result | Contribution |
| 1 | 24 March 2019 | Andre Russell | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Won By 6 wickets | 49 runs off 19 balls |
| 2 | 27 March 2019 | Andre Russell | Kings XI Punjab | Won By 28 runs | 48 runs off 17 balls |
| 3 | 5 April 2019 | Andre Russell | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Won By 5 Wickets | 48* runs off 13 balls |
| 4 | 7 April 2019 | Harry Gurney | Rajasthan Royals | Won By 8 Wickets | 2/25 in 4 overs |
| 5 | 28 April 2019 | Andre Russell | Mumbai Indians | Won By 34 runs | 80* runs in 40 balls |
| 6 | 3 May 2019 | Shubman Gill | Kings XI Punjab | Won By 7 Wickets | 65 runs in 49 balls |