# 2014 Kolkata Knight Riders season

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 side 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.

## Indian Premier League
### Season standings

Kolkata Knight Riders finished winners in the league stage of IPL 2014.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | Kings XI Punjab (R) | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0.968 |
| 2 | Kolkata Knight Riders (C) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.418 |
| 3 | Chennai Super Kings (3) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0.385 |
| 4 | Mumbai Indians (4) | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0.095 |
| 5 | Rajasthan Royals | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0.060 |
| 6 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | −0.399 |
| 7 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 10 | −0.428 |
| 8 | Delhi Daredevils | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 4 | −1.182 |
* Top 4 teams were qualified for the playoffs
* advanced to the Qualifier and 2014 Champions League Twenty20 Group Stage
* advanced to the Eliminator and 2014 Champions League Twenty20 Group Stage
* advanced to the Eliminator and 2014 Champions League Twenty20 Qualifying Stage

### Match log

| No. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorecard |
| 1 | April 17, 2014 | Mumbai Indians | Abu Dhabi | Won by 41 Runs, MoM - Jacques Kallis 72(46) | Score Card |
| 2 | April 19, 2014 | Delhi Daredevils | Dubai | Lost by 4 Wickets | Score Card |
| 3 | April 24, 2014 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Sharjah | Won by 2 Runs, MoM - Chris Lynn 45(31) | Score Card |
| 4 | April 26, 2014 | Kings XI Punjab | Abu Dhabi | Lost by 24 Runs | Score Card |
| 5 | April 29, 2014 | Rajasthan Royals | Abu Dhabi | Match Tied; Super Over Tied; Lost by Boundary Count | Score Card |
| 6 | May 2, 2014 | Chennai Super Kings | Ranchi | Lost by 35 Runs | Score Card |
| 7 | May 5, 2014 | Rajasthan Royals | Ahmedabad | Lost by 10 Runs | Score Card |
| 8 | May 7, 2014 | Delhi Daredevils | New Delhi | Won by 8 Wickets, MoM - Gautam Gambhir 69(56) | Score Card |
| 9 | May 11, 2014 | Kings XI Punjab | Cuttack | Won by 9 Wickets, MoM - Gautam Gambhir 63(45) | Score Card |
| 10 | May 14, 2014 | Mumbai Indians | Cuttack | Won by 6 Wickets, MoM - Robin Uthappa 80(52) | Score Card |
| 11 | May 18, 2014 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Hyderabad | Won by 7 Wickets, MoM - Umesh Yadav 3/26 (4 Overs) | Score Card |
| 12 | May 20, 2014 | Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata | Won by 8 Wickets, MoM - Robin Uthappa 67(39) | Score Card |
| 13 | May 22, 2014 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Kolkata | Won by 30 Runs, MoM - Robin Uthappa 83(51) | Score Card |
| 14 | May 24, 2014 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Kolkata | Won by 4 Wickets, MoM - Yusuf Pathan 72(22) | Score Card |
| 15 | May 28, 2014 | Kings XI Punjab (Qualifier 1) | Kolkata | Won by 28 Runs, MoM - Umesh Yadav 3/13 (4 Overs) | Score Card |
| 16 | June 1, 2014 | 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. | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorecard |
| 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 | Scorecard |
| Overall record: 5–1. Runners-up. ||||||