Kolkata Knight Riders are one of the three franchises that have won the Indian Premier League twice or more. Apart from MI’s five titles and CSK’s four wins, KKR has grabbed the IPL cup twice, in 2012 and 2014. Thus, the Men in Purple and Gold are one of the most successful teams in the IPL’s history.
Not just with the title wins, KKR also had some amazing records in the cabinet in this league. Some records were made way back and still unbreakable in the competition. That’s why in this article, we will discuss such IPL records that look pretty difficult to break and are recorded by the Kolkata Knight Riders.
1. Biggest Winning Streak in IPL
KKR started the 2014 season horribly. They only won two games out of the first seven of that edition. But then, it changed drastically for them. They didn’t look back after that. KKR won back-to-back nine games in that season, including the final against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), to win their second IPL title. They ended the 2014 season with nine consecutive wins. But they started the 2015 season with a win as well. In their first game of the 2015 edition, they won MI to increase this streak to 10, which is a record in the IPL.
2. Biggest Run Chase in IPL final
Kolkata Knight Riders have played three IPL finals so far in 15 seasons. They won the finals of the 2012 and 2014 seasons, beating CSK and PBKS, respectively. However, they lost the 2021 final against CSK. But in these three finals, KKR has set a record for the most successful run chase. It came in the 2014 season agaisnt Punjab. Batting first, Punjab scored a big total of 199/4. Chasing 200 in the final is always difficult. But KKR did it and wrote history. They made 200/7 in 19.3 overs to register the highest run chase in an IPL final, and they won their second IPL title with this.
3. Highest Powerplay Score in IPL
Scoring runs in the power play sets the tone for any team in the limited over cricket. And the highest power play score in an IPL game belongs to the two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders. It came in the 46th game of the 2017 season, when KKR faced RCB in Bengaluru. RCB made 158/6 in their first inning with half-centuries from Mandeep Singh (52 off 43) and Travis Head (75* off 47). But KKR just demolished the RCB bowler. The pair of Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn added a staggering 105 runs in the first six overs to set the record. Narine made 54 off 17, while Lynn made 50 off 22. KKR made 159/4 in 15.1 overs to win the game.
4. Bowling Out Opposition for Lowest IPL total
Bowling out the opposition in a 20-over game is also a skill. And KKR holds the record for bowling out the opposition for the lowest total in the IPL. They did it against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 27th game of the 2017 season at Eden Gardens. Batting first, KKR scored 131 runs in 19.3 overs. It was a below-par total and looked like an easy chase. But in the second inning, KKR bowled extremely well and dismissed RCB for the lowest IPL total of 49 runs in 9.4 overs to win the game by 82 runs.
5. Highest Fifth-wicket partnership
Partnerships in the top-order are a regular sight in the game. However, if the middle-order batters can contribute significantly to the game, the team becomes stronger. Similarly, KKR holds the record for the highest fifth-wicket partnership in IPL history. It came between Shakib Al Hasan and Yusuf Pathan in the 2016 season against Gujarat Lions. Both batters added an unbeaten 134 runs for the fifth wicket to take the score to 158/4. Shakib made 66 not out while Yusuf scored 63 not out. Gujarat chased down the target in 18 overs and made 164/5 to win by five wickets.