Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - IPL 5 Analysis
Kolkata Knight Riders are probably the team with the most fiercely loyal following. But that did not do anything for them as they came crashing down in IPL 2 to land at the bottom. They recovered sufficiently in IPL 3 to end up at the 6th spot just like they did in IPL 1. At the end of season 3, KKR were the biggest joke in IPL. But the owners stepped in to revamp the entire squad and that clicked as under the leadership of a charged up Gautam Gambhir they defied all odds to end at 4th spot in last IPL. This season they outplayed almost every team on their way to the final. At the end of IPL 5 KKR emerged as the reason for their owners' joy. KKR became the champions of IPL 5.
| Opposition | Matches | Wins | Losses | N/R | Wins (%) |
| v CSK | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67% |
| v DC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% |
| v DD | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67% |
| v KXIP | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
| v MI | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
| v PWI | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| v RCB | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
| v RR | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50% |
Hits:
Gautam Gambhir:
Opening the innings for KKR, Gambhir played some superlative knocks. He averaged 36.87 in 17 matches. Proving his mettle, Gambhir grabbed 3 man of the match awards. In matches KKR won, Gambhir contributed 27.04% of the runs. His batting performance percentage is 180.81 which makes him KKR's most valuable player.
Sunil Narine:
The man from the West Indian islands ended up as the man of the tournament. This mystery spinner bamboozled even the great Sachin Tendulkar. He picked up 24 wickets at an economy rate of 5.47. In T-20 that is nothing short of outstanding. Our stats show exactly what he contributed in every match. His wicket taking efficiency of 164.29 makes him an auto-select in any team.
Flops:
Yusuf Pathan:
A T-20 specialist, Pathan managed only 194 runs in 17 matches. Pathan's dismal performance made one believe that KKR were one player short. He didn't contribute much with the ball either. Rather than living up to his reputation of an explosive batsman, Pathan imploded succumbing to the pressure.
Surprises:
Manvinder Bisla:
He played only 7 matches, but scored 213 runs. 89 of those runs came in the finals against CSK. Bisla came good when it mattered the most. Coming in for McCullum in the finals, he played a match winning innings. Hence he finds himself in our surprises list.
Performance of our Darkhorses:
Iqbal Abdulla:
Abdulla found himself in the playing XI only for 9 matches. He managed to pick up 4 wickets and an economy rate of 6.54. His performance was quite average, but our other pick turned out to be an accurate one - Sunil Narine.
Sunil Narine:
As mentioned above he has been one of the best players for KKR this season. Also, the fact that he walked away with the man of the tournament award says it all.