Best IPL Team 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders create history!

Title winners Kolkata Knight Riders have easily been the best IPL team in 2024 following their domineering season. Not only did the side lose just three of the 14 league games they played on their way to the final, but also bettered many records in the process.

Under old mentor Gautam Gambhir, who returned to the franchise after years, and young captain Shreyas Iyer, IPL’s Knight Riders franchise emerged as a superior side that hardly put a step wrong.

The best example of that was their Net Run Rate of 1.428, which was the most by any side in IPL history.

IPL 2024 Points Table

Thanks to openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt, KKR would get off to explosive starts more often than not and accumulate gigantic totals that boosted their net run rate in the overall scheme of things. Both the batters ended up hitting 50 boundaries in 15 matches and lead the list of players hitting the most fours in an inning (Salt: 14 boundaries; Narine: 13 boundaries).

Leading the charge of the ball was Kolkata Knight Riders’ mystery spinner Suni Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. After the batters whacked the ball all around the park, the spinning duo ensured that the opponents choked on dot balls and were forced to make mistakes. While Narine and Chakravarthy bowled 127 and 125 dot balls, respectively, premier fast bowler Mitchell Starc chipped in with 105 blanks of his own.  

KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy missed the purple cap to Harshal Patel (24 wickets) by just three wickets as two of KKR’s matches were washed out in the later stages of the tournament. While Chakravarthy ended with 21 wickets, KKR also saw all-rounders Harshit Rana (19), Andre Russell (19) and Sunil Narine (17) contributing to the cause. 

After batting and bowling, the Purple and Gold Army dominated on the field as well, taking as many as 81 catches in the entire tournament. The next best fielding sides were Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals who took 11 and 12 catches lesser than KKR, respectively, which goes on to show the sharpness in their fielding.

KKR | The Chaser Master of IPL 2024   

During the 2024 IPL season, KKR had the opportunity to bat second in five matches, and under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, they won all of those games.

Shreyas Iyer's Unbeaten Run During Chases

KKR captain Shreyas Iyer was the backbone of the team's run chases in IPL 2024, remaining unbeaten whenever they batted second. Throughout the season, Iyer accumulated 351 runs in 14 matches, boasting a strike rate of 146.86 and an average of 39.

Less Reliance On Andre Russell's Batting

Typically a key figure in KKR's batting lineup, Andre Russell didn't need to bat during any of the team's chases this season. This reflects the strength and consistency of KKR's batting performance in 2024, where they frequently avoided trouble.

Efficient Run Chases

KKR's dominance was evident in their efficient run chases. They never required more than 17 overs to reach their targets in the five matches where they batted second, showcasing their ability to overpower opponents with ease.

KKR dominated Every Powerplay

KKR's opening duo of Phil Salt and Sunil Narine consistently provided strong starts throughout the season. Even when Rahmanullah Gurbaz replaced Salt in the final two matches, KKR's dominance in the first six overs persisted. Demonstrating their supremacy in run chases, KKR scored over 60 runs in the powerplay in every match where they batted second.