Every IPL Team plays it’s opponent twice in the competition, once at home ground and once away. Each Team tries its best to make the maximum use of home conditions and strategies accordingly. Winning most home matches and trying best for a few away wins have been a standard strategy in the IPL. In this series, we look at each team and its relationship with its home venue and its likely strategy this year.
Arguably, the most iconic cricket ground of India. This ground has witnessed some of the greatest and most tragic moments in Indian cricket. The Eden Gardens of Kolkata is the home venue for the Kolkata Knight Riders team. The biggest colosseum in Indian cricket is ready to host the extravaganza of the IPL once more this year.
The first capital of British Rule in India, Kolkata rightly boasts one of the oldest cricket grounds in India. The Eden Gardens was established in 1864 (154 years ago!) and served as the host of the second-ever Test match played in India. The gigantic stadium has since hosted the 1987 World Cup Final, the WT20 2016 Final and other 80-odd international matches. It has hosted two IPL finals as well.
KKR Record at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata (All Seasons)
| Year | Played | Win | Loss | Win % |
| 2008 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 2010 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71 |
| 2011 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 2012 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43 |
| 2013 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 63 |
| 2014 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 100 |
| 2015 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83 |
| 2016 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 2017 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
Abandoned matches not taken into account.
Despite flunking in bottom positions in the first few seasons, KKR boasted a decent record at their home ground. Their average winning percentage here is 65% so although they have won more than lost, they have not been able to establish it as a fortress for themselves.
Also Read: IPL 2018 Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders – King’s Men Ready For Crusade
Quite surprisingly in the first IPL that KKR won, they managed to win six out of the seven away fixtures and only three out of seven at home. This is their worst home performance. Interestingly, they became the IPL champions even when they gave their best IPL performance in 2014. Playing half the matches in India (one half in Dubai), KKR won four out of four matches.
Pitch Condition:
Eden Gardens is a typical Indian ground which tends to be on a slower side as the game progresses. The weather conditions at night are favorable for dew formation which helps the side batting side, well reflected from the skewed stats of the chasing side winning maximum times. The ground is one of the largest but batting friendly at the same time.
Also Read: IPL 2018: Kolkata Knight Riders To Miss Big Names This Season
For IPL 2018:
This year Kolkata Knight Riders possess three of the best spinners going around in the T20 cricket – Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav, and Piyush Chawla. All three do not necessarily need a good spinning track to perform but dew will hamper them. While KKR pace battery is supercharged with youngsters who will be raring to go. Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, and Mitchell Starc will be hoping for a helpful track since the low and slow track of Eden may suck the life out of them.
