Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders had a tough day on Monday, April 21, as they lost by 39 runs to Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2025 match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Batting first, the Gujarat Titans, led by Shubman Gill, set a big target of 199 runs. In reply, KKR, under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane, couldn’t build enough momentum. Even though Rahane scored a fighting half-century, the team could only reach 149 runs for the loss of eight wickets, falling well short of the target.
KKR faced their fifth defeat of the season, and losing in front of their home crowd made it even tougher. With just six points so far, they’re still stuck at seventh place on the points table.
How KKR can qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs: Scenario explained
►KKR has played 8 matches and has lost 5 of them, meaning they can only afford to lose one more game in the entire competition.
►Out of the 6 matches remaining, they need to win at least 5 of them, which will take their points tally to 16, but since KKR’s net run-rate is poor, even 16 points might not be enough to secure a place in the knockouts. But to be on the safer side, KKR needs to win 5 out of the remaining 6.
►If KKR lose another game and go on to win 4 matches, their points at the end of the league will be 14, which certainly will rule them out of the IPL 2025 playoff qualification race. Hence, to secure their place, the Knight Riders at least need 16 points.
KKR’s upcoming matches
Date | Day | Time (IST) | Venue | Opponent Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 26 | Sat | 7:30 PM | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | Punjab Kings |
Apr 29 | Tue | 7:30 PM | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi | Delhi Capitals |
May 4 | Sun | 3:30 PM | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | Rajasthan Royals |
May 7 | Wed | 7:30 PM | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | Chennai Super Kings |
May 10 | Sat | 7:30 PM | Rajiv Gandhi Int’l Stadium, Hyderabad | Sunrisers Hyderabad |
May 17 | Sat | 7:30 PM | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru | Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
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