IPL 2014: Kolkata Knight Riders create new IPL record for longest winning streak

Robin Uthappa rushes on to celebrate the victory with Piyush Chawla after the final

The IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders have re-created a record for the longest unbeaten run in IPL history by winning their 9th consecutive match on the trot.

They equlled the record last match with Kings XI Punjab, the team they toppled in the playoffs twice. It was an unbelieveable turnaround for the Kolkata based franchise to be winning 9 in a row after a below par start to the campaign. The Gambhir-led side suffered four straight losses after winning two out of their initial three fixtures. One of those four matches included a super-over as well.

Robin Uthappa discovered his form after making the transition to the top of the order two matches before they started winning and he carried on until the final, where he faltered. It all started from the match against Delhi Daredevils where the openers put on a century partnership to guide them to a target of 161. From then, on it was all one-way traffic.

Sunil Narine found valuable partners in Piyush Chawla and Shakib Al Hasan, to go with Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel staying within acceptable economy rates. The pacers became better and better with every match and it proved to be vital in separating crucial opening stands of the oppositon teams in the playoffs.

It has to be noted that the record was only recently set by the Kings XI Punjab earlier in the season and ended with a defeat to Mumbai Indians. They won their last 3 games in 2013 before beginning this IPL 7 with a five back-to-back wins.

With the Knights Riders playing to the best of their abilities to break the ambitions of a maiden IPL title for Kings XI, they do have a chance to extend their run further when they open their campaign next season.