Former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir has referred to the franchise’s IPL 2014 triumph as his most memorable
moment in the history of the tournament. Gambhir recalled how KKR were on the verge of elimination in 2014 after winning just two of their first seven games but went on to lift the trophy eventually, winning nine straight games as well.

Kolkata Knight Riders have won the IPL twice, in 2012 and 2014 as well. While many fans and critics have termed the 2012 win as KKR’s most memorable moment in the T20 league, Gambhir has a different point of view. Speaking to Sportskeeda’s Match Ki Baat, he picked the 2014 triumph over the 2012 win and shared how they were completely written off after a poor start.

ALSO READ: Kirti Azad welcomes BCCI’s new directive in central contract

“My favorite memory of this league is of course winning in 2012 and 2014. A lot of people said that the 2012 win was very memorable, but for me it was 2014. The way we started, we had won only two of the first seven matches. We needed to win seven out of seven matches to qualify [for the next round],” Gambhir said.

“I remember, many times when I used to go out for the toss, opposition captains would say, ‘beat that side, it would be better for us. You can be a party spoiler’. From party spoiler to winning the championship, the journey was very memorable. Oppositions thought we wouldn’t qualify and told us, ‘don’t beat us, but defeat the other sides’. In fact, 2014 was very special,” the former KKR skipper further added.

“We won nine out of nine and lifted the IPL and then lost the Champions League final, winning 14 games in a row,” Gambhir concluded.

Having reached the final of IPL 2014, Kolkata Knight Riders went on to clinch the trophy by defeating Punjab Kings in the summit clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Chasing 200, KKR got home by seven wickets in 19.3 overs as Manish Pandey smashed 94 off 50.