The Indian Premier League came into existence in 2008 after the successful conclusion of the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians are two of the most successful franchises in the league. MI has won five seasons, while CSK has won the league four times. But apart from these two teams, Kolkata Knight Riders are another team with multiple IPL wins.
KKR has won the league twice, in 2012 and 2014, under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. This team has done pretty well as compared to other IPL franchises. Apart from winning, KKR has also ended as runners-up in 2021. They have played in the IPL final a total of three times. And here we will cover all three IPL finals for Kolkata so far.
Kolkata Knight Riders Final Match List
| Season | Against | Venue | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | CSK | Chennai | May 27, 2012 | Champion |
| 2014 | PBKS | Bengaluru | June 1, 2014 | Champion |
| 2021 | CSK | Dubai (DSC) | October 15, 2021 | Runners-up |
1. Season 2012 Final vs Chennai Super Kings – Champion
Kolkata played their first IPL final in the 2012 season. With 10 wins out of 16 games, KKR finished second in the group stage. It helped them play in the qualifiers. In Qualifier 1, KKR locked horns with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and registered an 18-run win, which made them play the final. It was CSK against them in the final in Chennai on May 27, 2012.
Batting first, CSK scored a big total of 190/3, with Suresh Raina scoring 73 off 38. Chasing the target, KKR lost skipper Gambhir (2) in the first over. But after that, Manvinder Bisla (89 off 48) and Jacques Kallis (69 off 49) added 136 runs for the second wicket to guide their team to victory. KKR made 192/5 in 19.4 overs and won by five wickets to lift their first title.
2. Season 2014 Final vs Punjab Kings – Champion
After winning the 2012 edition, Gautam Gambhir led KKR to another final in 2014. With nine wins and five defeats in 14 games, Kolkata finished second in the group. In Qualifier 1, they faced Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and won the game by 28 runs to qualify for the finals. However, Punjab also made the final. Both teams faced off once again in the final in Bengaluru on June 1, 2014.
It was a high-scoring match. Punjab scored a massive total of 199/4 in their 20 overs. Wriddhiman Saha scored a brilliant century and made 115 not out off 55 balls. It looked like Punjab would win, but Manish Pandey led the way for KKR. He scored 94 runs off 50 balls to take his team near the target. Eventually, KKR made 200/7 in 19.3 overs and won their second IPL title.
3. Season 2021 Final vs Chennai Super Kings – Runners-up
KKR played their third IPL final in 2021 under the leadership of Eoin Morgan. After winning seven games out of 14, Kolkata finished fourth on the table. In the Eliminator knockout game, they faced RCB, which they won by 4 wickets. In Qualifier 2, they beat DC by 3 wickets to qualify for their third IPL final. However, they couldn’t repeat their success in the final in Dubai (DSC).
It was CSK that batted first and scored 192/3 in their first inning. Faf du Plessis was the top-scorer with 86 runs off 59 balls. Robin Uthappa (31 off 15) and Moeen Ali (37* off 20) also played good cameos. In reply, Kolkata got off to a brilliant start, with both openers scoring 91 runs in just 10.4 overs. Shubman Gill made 51 off 43, and Venkatesh Iyer scored 50 off 32. But once that partnership was broken, KKR lost its way and reached 165/9, losing the game by 27 runs.
Teamwise IPL Final Match List
| 1 | MI Final Match List |
| 2 | KKR Final Match List |
| 3 | RCB Final Match List |
| 4 | PBKS Final Match List |
| 5 | SRH Final Match List |
| 6 | DC Final Match List |
| 7 | RR Final Match List |
| 8 | CSK Final Match List |