How good are the Kolkata Knight Riders? Well, the numbers speak for themselves. With a 53.40 per cent success rate since 2020, the three-time champions have consistently outperformed most other teams in the league. They have emerged as one of the most consistent sides in recent years, boasting the highest win rate since 2020 – the winningest side in the league lately amongst teams that have played more than fifty games.
In the last five years, the defending three-time champions have secured one championship (obviously in 2024) and finished as runners-up once (2021). More notably, they have won more matches than even Chennai Super Kings despite the fact that MS Dhoni led them to titles twice in this period.
"I had not seen these stats, but it makes us feel good and validates what we have all along believed in," Venky Mysore, the CEO of the Knight Riders, said. "The philosophy of the franchise has been to keep things simple, put the right people in the right jobs."
Mysore, the longest serving CEO in the IPL with 15 years of experience, dwelt on how the team addresses the issue of changing personnel in the side. "We try to empower them and provide our unconditional support," he said adding, "By providing opportunities, we have seen players flower and realize their full potential." The Knight Riders have a new captain in Ajinkya Rahane and new mentor in Dwayne Bravo, who have replaced Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir.
Across 74 games since the start of the 2020 season, the Shah Rukh Khan-owned team boasts a 39-34 win-loss record, with one match ending in no result. In 2020, they finished fifth, missing the play-off berth by a whisker. They were the finalists in 2021, a poor seventh in the 2022 and 2023 season before crowning themselves under Shreyas Iyer captaincy last season.
Interestingly, Gujarat Titans (28 wins and 17 losses) and Lucknow SuperGiants (24 wins and 29 losses) boast the best success rates of all teams, with 62% and 55.80% respectively. However, they have played the fewest games – 45 and 44, respectively, failing to cut a larger sample size.
@B0$
KKR: 74 games, 39 wins, 34 losses, 1 NR, 53.40% success
RCB: 75 games, 39 wins, 35 losses, 0 NR, 52% success
CSK: 74 games, 38 wins, 35 losses, 1 NR, 52% success
DC: 75 games, 38 wins, 37 losses, 0 NR, 50.60% success
RR: 75 games, 37 wins, 37 losses, 1 NR, 50% success
MI: 74 games, 35 wins, 39 losses, 0 NR, 47.20% success
PBKS: 70 games, 30 wins, 40 losses, 0 NR, 42.80% success
SRH: 74 games, 30 wins, 44 losses, 0 NR, 40.50% success
GT: 45 games, 28 wins, 17 losses, 0 NR, 62.20% success
LSG: 44 games, 24 wins, 19 losses, 1 NR, 55.80% success