Top 5 worst begin to a season for KKR in historical past ft. IPL 2026

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have gotten off to their worst possible start in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. The three-time champions are yet to win even one out of their first six games, including a rain-abandoned fixture against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

The Knight Riders lost to Mumbai Indians (MI) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets and 65 runs, respectively, in their first two matches before rain affected their match against PBKS. They then suffered a hat-trick of losses against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets, 32 runs, and five wickets, respectively.

In their first five completed fixtures, the The Ajinkya Rahane-led side have only looked competitive against the Super Giants, but Mukul Choudhary (54* off 27) took the game away from them while chasing 182 at Eden Gardens.

Here are top 5 worst beginnings for KKR in the Indian T20 league:

IPL 2009 (1 win in 6 games)

The Knight Riders managed to win only one out of their first six matches in IPL 2009. They began their season with an eight-wicket loss against now-defunct Deccan Chargers before beating PBKS By 11 runs via DLS method to register their first win that season. The franchise then lost Super Over against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their next game before rain abandoned their fourth match against the Super Kings. The Brendon McCullum-led side then lost back-to-back matches against MI and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

• 1. Lost to Deccan Chargers by 8 wickets
• 2. Beat PBKS by 11 runs via DLS method
• 3. Lost to RR in Super Over
• 4. Match against CSK abandoned due to rain
• 5. Lost to MI by 92 runs
• 6. Lost to RCB by 5 wickets

IPL 2008 (2 wins in 6 games)

KKR beat RCB and now-defunct Deccan Chargers by 140 runs and five wickets, respectively, in their first two matches in the inaugural season of the T20 league. The Sourav Ganguly-led side, however, lost four consecutive matches against CSK, MI, RR and PBKS.

• 1. Beat RCB by 140 runs
• 2. Beat Deccan Chargers by 5 wickets
• 3. Lost to CSK by 9 wickets
• 4. Lost to MI by 7 wickets
• 5. Lost to RR by 45 runs
• 6. Lost to PBKS by 9 runs

IPL 2014 (2 wins in 6 games)

KKR beat MI by 41 runs in their season opener in IPL 2014 before losing to Delhi in their next match. They soon bounced back with a win over RCB by two runs before losing to PBKS, RR (via Super Over) and CSK. Later, the Gautam Gambhir-led team went on to win their second title that year.

• 1. Beat MI by 41 runs
• 2. Lost to Delhi Daredevils by 4 wickets
• 3. Beat RCB by 2 runs
• 4. Lost to PBKS by 23 runs
• 5. Lost to RR in Super Over
• 6. Lost to CSK by 34 runs

IPL 2021 (2 wins in 6 games)

Led by Eoin Morgan, KKR made another promising start to IPL 2021 by defeating SRH by 10 runs in their opening game. They then lost four back-to-back matches against MI, RCB, CSK, RR before defeating PBKS by five wickets.

• 1. Beat SRH by 10 runs
• 2. Lost to MI by 10 runs
• 3. Lost to RCB by 38 runs
• 4. Lost to CSK by 18 runs
• 5. Lost to RR by 6 wickets
• 6. Beat PBKS By 5 wickets

IPL 2023 (2 wins in 6 games)

The Nitish Rana-led KKR lost to PBKS by seven runs via DLS method in their opening match of IPL 2023 season. They then registered consecutive wins over RCB and GT by 81 runs and three wickets, respectively. The Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise ended up losing a hat-trick of games against SRH, MI and DC.

• 1. Lost to PBKS 7 runs via DLS method
• 2. Beat RCB by 81 runs
• 3. Beat GT by 3 wickets
• 4. Lost to SRH by 23 runs
• 5. Lost to MI by 5 wickets
• 6. Lost to DC by 4 wickets