The 2014 IPL season ended with the Kolkata Knight Riders facing off against the Kings XI Punjab. The Kings went 11-3 during the regular season with a net run rate of nearly +1. The Knight Riders were 9-5 with a NRR of +0.42.
The Kings had a slight advantage with a -130 line to win the match. The Knight Riders were listed at +120, thus giving off a small bit of a challenge for the team.
Even with this, the Kolkata Knight Riders managed to pull off a big upset victory. The Knight Riders had a score of 200/7 with 19.3 overs while the Kings had a score of 199/4 with 20 overs. The Knight Riders won the match by just three wickets.
WP Saha had 115 runs for the Kings. He became the first person in IPL history to have a century during the league’s title match. Saha’s performance was a little more diverse with a mix of both off and leg side hits throughout the match. Manan Vohra also had 67 runs.
The Knight Riders had a narrow run with Manish Pandey being the key star for the team. Most of his hits going on the leg side while the pull shot was a little more productive for him. He had 94 runs during the match. His performance was enough for him to be named the player of the match. Yusuf Pathan also had 36 runs in this match.
Piyush Chawla was also important for the team. Chawla went 2/44 with four overs during the match, thus making him the most prominent bowler in the match.
The potential for the Kolkata Knight Riders to win in the 2015 season is not as strong as they are listed at 5/1 to win. The Kings are not any better as they are listed at 11/2. The Chennai Super Kings have a much better look with regards to potentially win the season at a total of 3/1.