| 2008 season | |||
| Coach | John Buchanan | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain | Sourav Ganguly | ||
| Ground(s) | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | ||
| IPL | 6th | ||
| Most runs | Sourav Ganguly (349)[1] | ||
| Most wickets | Umar Gul (12)[2] | ||
| |||
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is a franchise cricket team based in Kolkata, India, which plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They were one of the eight teams that competed in the 2008 IPL edition. They were captained by Sourav Ganguly. Kolkata Knight Riders finished sixth in the IPL and did not qualify for the Champions League T20.
Squad[edit | edit source]
On 11 March 2008, Sourav Ganguly, the team's icon player, was appointed as captain.[3][4]
| No. | Name | Age | Nationality | Batting style | Bowling style | Signing price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| 00 | Salman Butt | 23 |  Pakistan |
Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | US$100,000 |
| 1 | Sourav Ganguly | 35 |  India |
Left-handed | Right-arm medium | US$1,092,500 |
| 11 | Aakash Chopra | 30 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 14 | Ricky Ponting | 33 |  Australia |
Right-handed | Right-arm medium | US$400,000 |
| 17 | Brad Hodge | 33 | Australia |
Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 20 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | ||
| Yashpal Singh | 26 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ||
| Debabrata Das | 21 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | ||
| Rohan Banerjee | 19 | India |
Left-handed | Right-arm medium | ||
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 5 | Mohammad Hafeez | 27 | Pakistan |
Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | US$100,000 |
| 7 | Laxmi Ratan Shukla | 26 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 8 | David Hussey | 30 | Australia |
Right-handed | Right-arm off-break | US$625,000 |
| 45 | Chris Gayle | 28 |  Jamaica |
Left-handed | Right-arm off-break | US$800,000 |
| Iqbal Abdulla | 18 | India |
Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox spin | ||
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 6 | Wriddhiman Saha | 23 | India |
Right-handed | ||
| 13 | Tatenda Taibu | 24 |  Zimbabwe |
Right-handed | US$125,000 | |
| 42 | Brendon McCullum | 26 |  New Zealand |
Right-handed | US$700,000 | |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| 2 | Ashok Dinda | 24 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 14 | Shoaib Akhtar | 32 | Pakistan |
Right-handed | Right-arm fast | US$450,000 |
| 25 | Murali Kartik | 31 | India |
Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox spin | US$425,000 |
| 29 | Ishant Sharma | 19 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | US$950,000 |
| 40 | Ajantha Mendis | 23 |  Sri Lanka |
Right-handed | Right arm off-break | |
| 55 | Umar Gul | 25 | Pakistan |
Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | US$150,000 |
| 68 | Ajit Agarkar | 30 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | US$350,000 |
| Siddarth Kaul | 17 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | ||
| Ranadeb Bose | 29 | India |
Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | ||
| Sourashish Lahiri | 26 | India |
Right-handed | Left-arm orthodox spin | ||
Indian Premier League[edit | edit source]
The team made a good start to the season by winning their first two matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Deccan Chargers. Opening batsman Brendon McCullum scored 158 runs in the first match. However, the team began to experience failures and lost the next four matches. The team managed to stage a comeback of sorts by winning the next three matches, helped by strong performances by Sourav Ganguly and Shoaib Akhtar. But their performance dipped again and they lost the next three matches. These included their match against Mumbai Indians, in which they were bowled out for 67 runs, the lowest score by a team in the IPL 2008 season.[5] When their match against Delhi Daredevils was washed out due to rain, they lost any chance of making it to the semifinals.[6] The Knight Riders ended their season on a winning note by defeating Kings XI Punjab on their home ground.
Financially, the Kolkata Knight Riders were easily the most successful franchise in the IPL, achieving a profit of ₹130 million (US$1.8 million) in the opening season itself.[7]
Season standings[edit | edit source]
Kolkata Knight Riders finished sixth in the league stage of IPL 2008.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajasthan Royals (C) | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0.632 |
| 2 | Kings XI Punjab | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0.509 |
| 3 | Chennai Super Kings (R) | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | −0.192 |
| 4 | Delhi Daredevils | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 0.342 |
| 5 | Mumbai Indians | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0.570 |
| 6 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 13 | −0.147 |
| 7 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 14 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 8 | −1.160 |
| 8 | Deccan Chargers | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 4 | −0.467 |
- (C) = Eventual champion; (R) = Runner-up.
Match log[edit | edit source]
| No. | 2010 | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorecard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 April | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Bangalore | Won by 140 runs, MoM- Brendon McCullum 158* (73) | Scorecard |
| 2 | 20 April | Deccan Chargers | Kolkata | Won by 5 wickets, MoM- David Hussey 38* (43) | Scorecard |
| 3 | 26 April | Chennai Super Kings | Chennai | Lost by 9 wickets | Scorecard |
| 4 | 29 April | Mumbai Indians | Kolkata | Lost by 7 wickets | Scorecard |
| 5 | 1 May | Rajasthan Royals | Jaipur | Lost by 45 runs | Scorecard |
| 6 | 3 May | Kings XI Punjab | Mohali | Lost by 9 runs | Scorecard |
| 7 | 8 May | Royal Challengers Bangalore | Kolkata | Won by 5 runs, MoM- Sourav Ganguly 20 (22) and 1/7 (3 overs) | Scorecard |
| 8 | 11 May | Deccan Chargers | Hyderabad | Won by 23 runs, MoM- Sourav Ganguly 91 (57), 2/25 (4 overs) and 2 catches | Scorecard |
| 9 | 13 May | Delhi Daredevils | Kolkata | Won by 23 runs, MoM- Shoaib Akhtar 4/11 (3 overs) | Scorecard |
| 10 | 16 May | Mumbai Indians | Mumbai | Lost by 8 wickets | Scorecard |
| 11 | 18 May | Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata | Lost by 3 runs (D/L) | Scorecard |
| 12 | 20 May | Rajasthan Royals | Kolkata | Lost by 6 wickets | Scorecard |
| 13 | 22 May | Delhi Daredevils | Delhi | Match abandoned due to rain | Scorecard |
| 14 | 25 May | Kings XI Punjab | Kolkata | Won by 3 wickets, MoM - Umar Gul 24 (11) and 4/23 (4 overs) | Scorecard |
| Overall record: 6–7. Failed to advance. | |||||
Tour of Australia[edit | edit source]
KKR played six T20 matches against Queensland during their 2008 tour of Australia.[8] All matches were played in Allan Border Field, Brisbane.[8] KKR won only one match, winning the second fixture by one wicket.[8]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Indian Premier League, 2008/ Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ↑ "Indian Premier League, 2008/ Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ↑ "Ganguly to lead Kolkata Knight Riders". ESPNcricinfo. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ↑ "KKR Indian Premier League 2007/08 Squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ↑ "Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL, Mumbai". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
- ↑ "All over for Knight Riders in 2008 – Post Kotla washout, even a win in last match won't be enough". The Telegraph. 23 May 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Shah Rukh plans to desert KKR for good". Zee News. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Kolkata Knight Riders tour of Australia". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 December 2025.