New Delhi: Kolkata Knight Riders stormed into the final of IPL 7 after an emphatic win over the table toppers Kings XI Punjab by 28 runs in the first qualifier. This is the second time KKR entered into the finals after 2012 victory and their fans would be hoping them to repeat the feat in Bengaluru on 1st June, Sunday.Kolkata's journey was unstable in the early phase of the tournament. In their first seven league matches they won only two and lost five but what happened next is the result where KKR is standing now. The team won eight matches on the trot including the qualifier and against everybody's expectations they became the first to reach the finals this year.Before the big final, India TV takes you to the glorious journey of Kolkata in their IPL 7 campaign: There could not be the better start for KKR when they outplayed the defending champions Mumbai Indians by 41 runs in the tournament opener at Abu Dhabi. Sunil Narine's four wickets and a huge 131 runs stand by Jacques Kallis (72) and Manish Pandey (64) gave the start that the franchisee wanted.With high confidence, KKR now had to face Delhi Daredevils in their second game. But unfortunately, they lost the game by 4 wickets. KKR played their third game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on 24th April. They won the game by just 2 runs in a last over thriller but the night was stolen by Chris Lynn who took the stunning catch of AB de Villiers that took the match away from RCB. After two wins and one loss, Kolkata's next challenge was Kings XI Punjab. The bowlers however did their job by restricting them to just 132 runs but the batsmen did not performed and were bowled out for just 109 under 19 overs. KXIP won the match by 23 runs. This was probably the most nail-biting game of the tournament so far between KKR and Rajasthan Royals when the match got tied after both team scored 152 runs in their allotted 20 overs. The unusual thing that happened was the super over was also tied. Hence the decision was taken on the basis of which team hit the maximum boundaries in which Punjab were five boundaries ahead of KKR. IPL arrived back to India on 21st April and KKR was now to face Chennai Super Kings. It was a rain hit match and the match was reduced to 17 overs a side. KKR was bowled for just 114 while chasing the target of 149.Kolkata and Rajasthan met again in their second encounter on 5th May. Rajasthan posted the target of 171 runs. KKR got the start they wanted. Skipper Gautam Gambhir (54) who started this year IPL with three ducks in a row set a 121 runs stand in 14 overs with Robin Uthappa (65). But what happened in the next eight balls turned the match around. Their 6 wickets were down in just 2 runs. From 121/0, KKR were down to 123/6 in 15.2 overs. Pravin Tambe's first hattrick restriced Kolkata to 160 in 20 overs and RR won the match by 10 runs.After the humiliating defeat, the Knights took on Delhi Daredevils again and this time the result was different. Chasing the target of 161, KKR won the match easily with 10 balls remaining. Robin Uthappa (47) and Gautam Gambhir (69) gave yet another century opening stand for KKR.After DD, Kolkata's next mission was against Kings XI Punjab again. The target of 150 runs was again small, but this time KKR batsmen were in different mood. The Knights won the match by 9 wickets and 12 balls remaining.This was the 40th match of IPL when KKR played Mumbai Indians second time in the tournament but the result was same as it was before. Chasing the target of 142, Kolkata won the match by 6 wickets. Thanks to the 80 runs scored by Robin Uthappa again in 52 balls including 9 fours and 3 sixes.This was must win game for both Sunrisers Hyderabad and KKR if they wanted to keep their hopes alive for the playoffs. Sunrisers set the target of 143 runs and while chasing KKR lost their skipper Gambhir in the second over. He was not happy with the dismissal as the ball didn't edged his bat and umpire gave him caught behind. However, they won the match by 7 wickets in the last over.After four wins in a row, KKR was now ready to face CSK for the second time. Kolkata successfully chased the target of 155 runs in 18 overs with the loss of 2 wickets. Robin Uthappa played another swashbuckling innings of 67 runs of 39 balls that drove KKR the victory.KKR's next game was against RCB. Robin Uthappa yet again played an innings of 83 runs in 51 balls and led the team to set a daunting target of 196 runs for RCB. Kolkata bowlers did their job again and restricted Bangalore to 165 for 5 wickets. Sunil Narine took 4 wickets in 4 overs giving away just 20 runs. This win pushed KKR through to the playoffs but their standing in the table was still not fixed.Kolkata played their last league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was a condition for KKR that they should chase the target in 15.2 overs to set their second position in the points table. Sunrisers set the target of 161 runs. KKR then got the start they wanted but after few strikes they were on backfoot. Yusuf Pathan then played a brilliant innings of 72 runs off 22 balls that took KKR home in just 14.2 overs. He scored his half century in just 15 balls, the fastest ever in IPL history. This was the 7th win in a row for Kolkata.KKR faced Kings XI Punjab third time in the tournament, this time in the qualifier 1. Kolkata was put to bat by Punjab. After the shaky start, KKR managed to score 163 runs in 20 overs and set the target of 164. Punjab also started their chase with some quick strikes. Their 7 wickets were down for just 117 in 17.3 overs and later the KKR bowlers did their job again and restricted KXIP to 135/8 in 20 overs. KKR won their 8th match on the trot and became the first team to reach the IPL final. Umesh Yadav was hero of the match who took 3 wickets for 13 runs in four overs.So far in the IPL 7, the bowling department of KKR has been the best of all. None of the team could surpass the score of 170 while facing Kolkata bowlers. The batsmen who were struggling in the earlier phase of the tournament, also found their form in the crucial stage of the tournament. The all-round performance led the team to the finals.Robin Uthappa is the leading run scorer in the tournament so far with 655 runs in 15 matches at the strike rate of 137.6 while Sunil Narine is the highest wicket taker for KKR with 20 wickets at an economy of 6.01. This time, KKR fans would hope that their team would repeat the 2012 feat and bring back the IPL trophy.
Updated on: May 31, 2014 7:52 IST
