Kolkata Knight Riders are one of three teams in the Indian Premier League that have won multiple titles. KKR has won two IPL seasons, in 2012 and 2014, respectively. And it was Gautam Gambhir who led the team to glory in the competition. Apart from winning the tournament, KKR also played in the 2021 final under Eoin Morgan.
But they got beaten by the Chennai Super Kings and ended as runners-up. Overall, KKR has played in the IPL playoffs four times, excluding the three finals. They have done well in this competition overall. Meanwhile, in this article, we will discuss their journey to the playoff stage in all the IPL seasons that they have had.
How many times KKR qualified for Playoffs
| Season | Group Standing | Final Standing |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4th out of 10 | Playoffs |
| 2012 | 2nd out of 9 | Champions |
| 2014 | 2nd out of 8 | Champions |
| 2016 | 4th out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2017 | 3rd out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2018 | 3rd out of 8 | Playoffs |
| 2021 | 4th out of 8 | Runners-up |
1. 2011 season – Playoffs
KKR made it to their first IPL playoff in 2011. They finished the group in fourth place with seven wins out of 14. In the Eliminator, they faced Mumbai Indians and lost by four wickets, which eliminated them from the competition at fourth place.
2. 2012 season – Winner
KKR became the fourth team to win the IPL in the 2012 season. They finished the group stage with 10 wins out of 16 in second place. As a result, they played Qualifier 1 against the table-topper, DC. KKR won that game by 18 runs and qualified for the final. And then they made history by winning their maiden title by beating CSK by five wickets.
3. 2014 season – Winner (second title)
Just like CSK and MI, Kolkata became only the third team to win multiple IPL titles in 2014. Gautam Gambhir led them to second place in the group stage with nine wins out of 14 games. Then, they beat KXIP (now PBKS) by 28 runs in Qualifier 1 to make it to the final, where they faced KXIP once again. And this time as well, they beat them with three wickets to win their second IPL title.
4. 2016 season – Playoffs
After winning their second title in 2016, KKR played the next playoffs in 2018. They were fourth in the group with 8 wins out of 14 games. But then, they couldn’t move further and lost the Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad to finish the tournament in fourth place.
5. 2017 season – Playoffs
In 2017, KKR played another playoff stage in the IPL. With eight wins out of 14 games in the group stage, Kolkata finished fourth on the table. And they ended the tournament in the same position. As they lost the Eliminator knock-out game against MI by six wickets to end their campaign.
6. 2018 season – Playoffs
Kolkata qualified for the playoffs for the third time in a row in 2018. They finished third in their group with eight wins from fourteen games. Then, KKR met the Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator and won it this time to advance to Qualifier 2. But they couldn’t win their next knockout game. KKR lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 14 runs and ended in third place.
7. 2021 season – Runners-up
After winning the second IPL season in 2014, it took KKR another seven editions to play their next IPL final. Kolkata won seven and lost seven matches in the group stage and became the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs. Then, beat RCB in Eliminator by 4 wickets and played with Delhi Capitals in the Qualifer 2. KKR won that as well by three wickets and made to their third IPL final. But their luck didn’t work in the final, and they suffered defeat against CSK by 27 runs to end as runners-up.