Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be geared up to play against Chennai Super Kings in an important fixture of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Wednesday (May 7). Their nail-biting win against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the previous match has kept KKR’s playoff dreams alive.
Looking back at the history, KKR have thrived in the latter stages of the league and transformed slow starts into playoff runs and even titles. Can they repeat those heroics this year as well and show their second-half magic?
KKR’s signature comebacks
Kolkata Knight Riders’ league-stage performances display a consistent pattern. They often stumble early but bounce at the time when it matters the most. Following is the data from previous seasons that highlight their ability to shift gears and make special comebacks.
Interestingly, their most impressive comeback was in the year 2014, when they won only two of the first five matches but registered a winning streak of seven matches after that. They clinched the champions in the same season.
KKR’s performance in IPL 2025
In IPL 2025, KKR won 3 out of the 7 matches, but their second half shows promise, with 2 wins, 1 loss, and 1 no-result in four matches. They have won their previous two matches back-to-back and will want to continue with the momentum in the upcoming game against Gujarat Titans.
KKR’s road to the playoff qualification
Kolkata Knight Riders currently have 11 points and an NRR of +0.249. They have three more matches remaining and they can bag 17 points after clinching a win in all three games. If they win the remaining clashes, then they will increase their chances of reaching the top 4. However, they will also hope that at least three teams who are in contention for qualification fail to get more than 16 points.
Can History Repeat?
In 2012, 2014, 2018, 2021, and 2024, Kolkata Knight Riders leveraged their form to reach at least the semi-finals and win three titles. If star players of KKR like Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Sunil Narine can replicate the heroics of past stars like Uthappa and Iyer, KKR could storm into the playoffs and beyond.
Kolkata Knight Riders full squad:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Moeen Ali, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anrich Nortje, Mayank Markande, Quinton de Kock, Chetan Sakariya.
