Kolkata Knight Riders have been the third most successful franchise in the history of IPL; the team has won two championships under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir. The lethal and consistent opening partnerships have proved to be the vital assets of KKR in their batting archives. In the opening, the franchise has got some explosive names like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn, and Sunil Narine. The top-order batting has been so flamboyant that KKR registered the highest powerplay figures of 105/0(6) in 2017.
The golden period of the franchise had come in the era of Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy. He snatched the leadership from the hands of local Sourav Ganguly in the IPL 2011. The team ownership entrusted a new man for the captaincy, and interestingly their belief has paid off just after a year in IPL 2012. In the 5th edition of the Indian Premier League, Kolkata Knight Riders beat the defending champions CSK in the finals and grabbed the cup for the very first time in their journey. Thus in that year also, the top order composition of Brendon McCullum, Jacques Kallis & Gautam Gambhir has done wonders for the team.
So, for depicting the dominance of top-order batters over the years for KKR, here are their top 5 best power play figures in the history of IPL.
#1 KKR (105/0) vs RCB in 2017
While chasing a decent total of 159 runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore, KKR has registered the highest ever powerplay figures in the tournament history. Batting first RCB made 158/6, including some touches from Mandeep Singh & Travis Head. But, as Kolkata comes down to pursue the target, Sunil Narine & Chris Lynn have thumped RCB with their quick-fire fifties. Their powerplay tally has gone up at 105/0 as Narine & Lynn have smacked 54 (17) & 50 (22).
#2 KKR (76/1) vs KXIP in 2017
Batting second, the two openers Sunil Narine & the skipper Gautam Gambhir put on a super showdown in the game. Chasing 171 runs, Kolkata has achieved an 8 wicket win over Punjab. Their power play numbers had gone at 76/1 in the first 6-overs. Both Gambhir & Narine have scored 72 (49) and 37 (18) in their respective knocks. This was the victory in the league, which took the team to the No. 1 position in the points table. Here is a list of teams that have registered the most wins in a single IPL season.
#3 KKR (73/1) vs GL in 2017
KKR has been invited to bat first in a second league meet-up against Gujarat Lions in the IPL 2017. The furious knocks of Sunil Narine 42 (17) & Robin Uthappa 72(48) were cruising the ship of KKR towards a big total. But, consecutive early blows after the powerplay overs had curbed it to 187/5. They registered figures of 73/1 in the early 6-overs, but the whole team had to stand out on the disappointing side as GL clinched a win by 4 wickets.
#4 KKR (68/2) vs RCB in 2018
Another total of 68/2 in the powerplay phase has made position at number four, which have come against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018. While cake-walking towards a target of 177 runs, Sunil Narine has again displayed his ruthless hitting skills by playing a cameo of 50 (19) with a hovering strike rate of 263.16. Lastly, Kolkata got a victory by 4 wickets, and still, an over was spared in the game.
#5 KKR (68/0) vs PWI in 2012
The last in this list came out against Pune Warriors India in the season of IPL 2012. Batting first, KKR has reached the total of 150/5 instead of neck clutching bowling of PWI. The skipper Gautam Gambhir led from the front with 56(36) and had a strike rate of 155.55. KKR again made an excellent powerplay tally of 68/0, and despite brilliant bowling performance, they have curbed PWI 7 runs before the target of 151.
Read now: Most Runs vs KKR in IPL
