Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won their third Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy by defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by eight wickets in the final at Chepauk on Sunday, May 26. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have five trophies each. In such a situation, Kolkata holds the record for winning the second most trophies.

Kolkata Knight Riders came into this edition of the tournament as the underdogs, as none of the experts had picked them in the list of favourites to win the tournament. However, the Purple Brigade proved everyone wrong by winning the title.

After playing the league matches, KKR topped the group stage leaderboard. After that, they defeated SRH in their qualifier match at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Then Shreyas’ team faced SRH in the final who had reached the final after defeating Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier match. Kolkata defeated them again and won the trophy.

In such a situation, let us talk about those 3 reasons due to which KKR’s 2024 victory is the biggest victory in IPL history-

1. KKR dominated the entire tournament

Kolkata played like true champions from the start and won three matches in a row at the start of the tournament. However, they lost one match but there was no looking back after that. They finished the league with 20 points and topped the playoff race. Out of the 14 matches they played, they won nine and lost three, while two matches were abandoned due to rain.

During their title-winning campaigns in 2012 and 2014, Kolkata did not look as dominant as they did this year. Moreover, they finished in the top 2 of the points table in those two years more than this year. Shreyas Iyer’s side was equally dominant in the playoffs this year, winning both matches by a margin of eight wickets.

2. Contribution of all players

Cricket is not a one-man game but a team game. It often happens that 2-3 players carry the burden of their team throughout the tournament. But this year it was different for KKR.

Every cricketer, who may have played just one match, left their mark on the team’s performance, making this win all the more special. Four batsmen have scored more than 350+ runs this season, while five bowlers have taken 15+ wickets, which is a testament to the collective performance of Kolkata players this season.

The support staff also played a vital role in keeping the players mentally and physically fit throughout the campaign.

3. Attacked the opposition team with both bat and ball

KKR’s run rate with the bat and economy rate with the ball ratio of 1.17 is the best ever in the history of the league. They surpassed Mumbai Indians, who had a ratio of 1.14 in 2020.

Not only this, Kolkata has finished its matches with the best net run rate in IPL 2024 which is the best net run rate in the history of the tournament.