As a KKR captain, Eoin Morgan has the lowest high score of 68 not out
If we look at Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) history, only Gautam Gambhir has tasted success as a captain, leading the team to two Indian Premier League (IPL) trophies. Not to forget, Gambhir also scored his highest score of 93 off 51 balls as KKR’s captain against Royal Challengers Bangalore. While other KKR captains may not have been as successful as Gambhir, in the following paragraphs, let us look at their highest scores in the IPL.
Note that the players may not have been KKR’s captain at the time they scored their highest inning for KKR.
On October 29, 2020, NitishRana scored 87 runs against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 61 balls, helping KKR post a target of 172 runs. He managed a strike rate of 142.62, and his inning included ten fours and four sixes. Unfortunately, KKR lost the match as CSK scored 178 runs. As of now, Rana is KKR’s fourth-highest run-scorer with 2,448 runs under his belt.
South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis captained KKR in only two matches, winning one and losing one. On April 15, 2011, KKR met Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 12th match of the IPL. Batting first, RR posted a target of 159 which was easily chased by KKR in 18.3 overs; thanks to Kallis’ 80 off 65 runs which included seven fours and two sixes. On the end, Gambhir had scored 75 runs off 44 balls.
Jacques Kallis in the KKR purple jersey
In the 43rd match of the 2019, RR visited the home ground of KKR, where KKR posted a target of 175 runs. When none of the KKR players could cross 25 runs, Karthik played a knock of 97 not out off 50 balls, including seven fours and nine sixes. Unfortunately, KKR lost the game, and Karthik’s efforts went in vain.
Ganguly, the first captain of KKR, scored 1,031 runs in 40 matches. His highest score came against now defunct team Deccan Chargers, the former champions of IPL. On May 11, 2008, Dada scored 91 runs off 57 ball and helped KKR post a target of 204 runs. Dada’s inning included 11 fours and five sixes.
English player Eoin Morgan also served as the captain of KKR and spent ten years with the team from 2011 to 2021. Unfortunately, Eoin was not too effective with the bat for KKR, scoring only 995 runs in 57 games. The former captain’s highest score for KKR was 68 off 35 balls against Rajasthan Royals on November 1, 2020.
Brendon McCullum is best known in the IPL for his 158 runs not out in the inaugural game of the tournament. On April 18, 2008, McCullum fired 158 runs in 73 balls, which included ten fours and 13 sixes, with a strike rate of 216.43. The match turned out to be a humiliation for Royal Challengers Bangalore, who not only conceded 222 runs but, in reply, could only score 82 runs in 20 overs – one of the lowest team totals in IPL’s history. The only RCB player with a double-digit score was Praveen Kumar.
Captaining KKR this season, so far, Iyer has only played 23 games (as of April 2) for KKR. In 23 matches, Iyer has scored 652 runs and his highest knock for KKR is 85 runs. Recently against Delhi Capitals, the player completed 3,000 IPL runs.
