The eventual finalists showed a glimpse of what to expect from their power hitters through the course of the season. KKR rallied from 51/4 to 208/7, thanks to Phil Salt’s 54 and Andre Russell’s stunning 64* off just 25 balls which comprised 7 sixes. South African superstar Heinrich klaasen did one better than Russell by smashing 8 sixes in his 29-ball 63. A brilliant final over by Harshit Rana titled the game in favor of KKR as the men in purple and gold eked out a narrow 4-run win.
KKR v LSG, A run-of-the-mill win for KKR
The Knights returned to their home turf after 21 days and brushed aside the Lucknow Super Giants by chasing 162 with plenty of overs to spare.
Trilogy of thrilling finishes
Imagine putting scores in excess of 220 in three successive games and losing all three, especially in your home turf. KKR were inches away from losing all three games.
Jos Buttler’s game awareness and incredible ability to bat with the tail provided a memorable last-ball win for Rajasthan Royals. The Royals chased 224 with just 2 wickets in hand. Five days later, KKR posted a near identical score of 222/6 against RCB and somehow managed to edge out their oldest rivals by a solitary run.
The following Friday proved to be the biggest upset of the tournament. Punjab Kings made an absolute mockery of KKR’s 261/6 by hunting it down with a whopping 8 balls to spare, thanks to Jonny Bairstow’s century and blistering cameos by Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh.
Start of the KKR juggernaut
The agonising defeat against the Punjab Kings served as a warning bell for the eventual champions. The Knights didn’t drop a single game after that night – 6 wins and 2 washouts – and sleep walked to their 3rd IPL title. KKR won their final two home games against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians with relative ease and with a sense of inevitability
5 Wins and 2 defeats in 7 home games for KKR was only bettered by the runners-up SRH who managed to taste 5 wins in 6 completed matches in Hyderabad.
KKR’s proud record
KKR played the season opener on 7 occasions and managed to win 6 of those, including the first ever IPL game in 2008. Ajinkya Rahane & Co will be raring to deliver on two fronts – A dominant home record and an even impressive season-opener exploits.
