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In a contest which was on the edge for most of its runtime, a 87 run stand between David Miller and Vijay Shankar gave the Gujarat Titans victory over the Knights at the Eden Gardens. Put into bat after a rain delay of 45 minutes, the Knights got off to a steady start courtesy a blinder from Rahmanullah Gurbaz who replaced Jason Roy in the XI, owing to the latter suffering back spasms before the game. Making the most of the opportunity, Gurbaz lit up the Eden Gardens finding the boundaries at will in his best ever IPL score 81(39). A late cameo from birthday boy Andre Russell 34(19) took us to the 180 mark which was just about par on a batter friendly wicket.

Buoyed by their comfortable win against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Wednesday, the Knights host defending champions Gujarat Titans on Saturday at the Eden Gardens for the first time ever. A win from this fixture will take the Knights to 8 points and closer to the top half of the table. Last time round, the Knights pulled off one of the most miraculous wins in the history of the game as Rinku Singh belted 5 maximums in as many balls with the nights needing 28 to win. Earlier in the innings, chasing 205 to win, the Knights got off to a shaky start but a 100 run stand between Skipper Rana (45) and Venkatesh Iyer (83) kept us in the game. However, a Rashid Khan hattrick in the 17th over had us on the ropes before Rinku Singh (48*) pulled off a heist for the ages.

A mixed start to this year’s TATA IPL has got us thinking about the 15 years that have gone by and what the team’s identity has been through the years. Many a time critics and opponents have made the mistake of writing off the Knights too early and the Knights have proven time and again that they have it in them to come out punching from the toughest of situations.

Explosive performances with the bat and a clinical bowling effort saw the Knights complete a league double over the Royal Challengers Bangalore earlier at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Put into bat once again pretty much like the reverse fixture, the Knights put on a score of 200 for the loss of 5 wickets with Jason Roy and Jagadeesan adding 82 runs for the first wicket in KKR’s best opening partnership of the season. Roy continued his purple patch with the bat with another dominating 50 which put KKR in command during the powerplay. Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana steadied the ship after the loss of Roy’s wicket putting on a 80 run stand that took KKR into touching distance of the 200 mark. Rinku Singh and David Wiese’s late pyrotechnics helped KKR get to the 200 mark.

The Knights travel to Bengaluru to take on RCB in a high stakes fixture on Wednesday. Having beaten the Royal Challengers earlier in the season, the Knights will be hoping to do a league double over the home team in a bid to scale up the points table.

Dhoni, the former skipper of the Indian cricket team and a four-time champion of the IPL, walked into the Eden Gardens possibly for the last time as an active player. As he walked out onto the pitch, a wave of emotion swept through the stands, and the entire stadium erupted in a rapturous ovation- a fitting tribute to a true icon of the game. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Dhoni said, "I will just say thanks for the support, they came in big numbers. Most of these guys will come in a KKR jersey next time. They are trying to give me a farewell, so thanks a lot to the crowd." The entire country has been showering Dhoni with love and adoration this year, and venues across the country have been painted yellow and echoed chants of Dhoni! Dhoni! every time the Chennai Super Kings have taken the field. On Sunday, we witnessed something similar at the Eden Gardens when both sets of fans cheered the dismissal of Ravindra Jadeja, giving Dhoni an incredible welcome to the crease. Dhoni's innings lasted just three balls as the Super Kings finished their quota of overs, but each ball he faced was cheered with increased enthusiasm and spirit. The 60,000 odd had gotten their money's worth in five minutes, having shared a moment in time with a man who could have possibly played his last match at the Eden Gardens. 

Born in Durban, South Africa, young Jason Roy moved to England when he was 10 years old with his family. Growing up watching and idolising top order greats like Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting through his formative years, Roy has admirably rosen through the ranks in England’s domestic circuits to become one of the most established openers in the modern game. Roy started out a child prodigy, playing his school cricket for Whitgit before making his T20 debut for Surrey at the age of 18 in 2008. The same year, Roy was also offered a position at the St. Mary’s University College after clearing his A level exams in Sports Science and Business, but declined the offer to concentrate on his cricketing career. In 2010, Roy made history for Surrey, scoring the first unbeaten century for the English county side in T20 cricket. 2014 was the year he truly emerged, scoring 677 runs at an average of 48.35 to catch the eye of the English selectors who rewarded him with a debut in an one off T20I against India.

Chasing a record 236 to win after putting the Super Kings to bat, the Knights fell short despite valiant efforts from Jason Roy and Rinku Singh with the bat at the Eden Gardens. The Knights had their task cut out after the Super Kings slogged their way to a mammoth 235 runs courtesy fifties from Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube. Youngster Suyash Sharma who dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad to break the opening stand was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1/29 in his 4 overs. In reply the Knights didn't get the start they wanted with Narine and Jagadeesan dismissed early. Nitish and Venkatesh tried to get things going with a flurry of boundaries but the pressure of the asking rate took its toll on the duo. Jason Roy, who couldn't open the innings earlier due to injury sustained in the fag end of the CSK innings looked in imperious form as he came out to bat hitting 3 sixes in the first 5 balls he faced to give the Knights faithful something to cheer about. Joined by Rinku Singh at the other end, the duo put on a 65 run stand before Roy departed trying to force the issue. Roy scored 61 of 26 balls featuring 5 boundaries and 5 maximums. With 101 still required in 5 odd overs, the task proved to be too much as the Knights folded at 186/8, falling short by 49 runs. Rinku Singh remained not out at 53 at the end, having scored his 2nd fifty this season.

The Knights return home to the Eden Gardens to take on an in-form Chennai Super Kings side on Sunday. We suffered a narrow loss in Delhi but can take a lot of heart from the bowling effort in the last game against Delhi Capitals. The Super Kings on the other hand have been in good touch winning 4 of their last 5 matches to set up base at the top half of the table. Historically, this fixture has seen some iconic clashes between the two, with the 2012 IPL Final being one of our biggest ever wins against the 4 time champions. The Knights have won 10 of the 28 played against the Super Kings and will be looking to get one over them on Sunday. The Knights registered a 6 wicket win the last time we faced the Super Kings, chasing down a modest total of 131 with 9 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium in 2022. Our bowlers on the night were at their economical best never allowing the Super Kings to put their foot on the accelerator. Umesh Yadav led the attack beautifully that night picking up 2/20 in his 4 overs.

India is a nation where most kids dream of playing cricket for the national team one day. However, only a select few go on to realise this dream, breaking through one of the most competitive domestic structures world sport has seen. In the midst of all this you have talents like Varun Chakravarthy who break into the team despite not playing competitive cricket during his teenage years. Born in 1991 in Chennai, Varun Chakravarthy graduated from SRM university with a degree in architecture. He always had a passion for cricket and during his youth years, he was quite good at tennis ball cricket. Back then, Varun wanted to emulate Dinesh Karthik and become a keeper batsman! After completing graduation, Varun took up a job as an architect and later started his own business because of which cricket took a back seat.

In yet another enthralling contest this season, the Knights mounted a formidable fightback defending a modest score of 127 in a 4 wicket loss to Delhi Capitals.

The Knights will return to Delhi for the first time in 4 years as they face Delhi Capitals at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday. The home team have had a tough start to their campaign losing all their 5 games so far while the Knights will be looking to get a win after the last couple of games didn’t go our way.  The two teams have faced each other 32 times in the past with the Knights coming out on top 16 times and DC winning 15. This makes this fixture one of the most closely contested in the IPL. The last time the two sides met in Delhi was a game for the ages as the game ended in a tie and Delhi just about edged the super over by 3 runs. Andre Russell had top scored for the Knights on that occasion scoring 62 of just 28 balls to power the Knights to a competitive total of 185. Russell has had a mixed start to the current campaign and will be looking to turn a corner when we face DC on Thursday. The talismanic allrounder played a handy cameo against Mumbai last time round and will carry confidence and form into this fixture against DC.