Can Kolkata Knight Riders Enter Playoffs? Here's How KKR Can Qualify for IPL 2022 Knockouts

Mumbai, April 21: The Kolkata Knight Riders had made a rather bright start to the IPL 2022 winning 3 of the first four matches under Shreyas Iyer.

It gave an impression of KKR stitching together another fine run like they did in the IPL 2021. But three defeats in as many matches have landed the Knight Riders in a spot of bother.

The defeat against Rajasthan Royals was very damning as they were so close to a win before Yuzvendra Chahal and Obed McCoy engineered a stunning turnaround for RR.

Can the KKR now qualify for the IPL 2022 playoffs? Here is a look at their remaining matches, how many matches they need to win now enter the playoffs and the net run rate calculations.

1. KKR schedule 2022

March 26: KKR vs Chennai Super Kings, 7.30pm IST, Wankhede Stadium: RESULT: WON

March 30: KKR vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 7.30pm IST, DY Patil Stadium: RESULT: LOST

April 1: KKR vs Punjab Kings, 7.30pm IST, Wankhede Stadium: RESULT: WON

April 6: KKR vs Mumbai Indians, 7.30pm IST, MCA Stadium, Pune. RESULT: WON

April 10: KKR vs Delhi Capitals, 3.30pm IST, Brabourne: RESULT: LOST

April 15: KKR vs SunRisers Hyderabad, 7.30 pm IST, Brabourne: RESULT: LOST

April 18: KKR vs Rajasthan Royals, 7.30pm IST, Brabourne: RESULT: LOST

April 23: KKR vs Gujarat Titans, 3.30pm IST, DY Patil Stadium

April 28: KKR vs Delhi Capitals, 7.30 pm IST, Wankhede Stadium

May 2: KKR vs Rajasthan Royals, 7.30pm IST, Wankhede Stadium

May 7: KKR vs Lucknow Super Giants, 7.30pm IST, MCA Stadium, Pune

May 9: KKR vs Mumbai Indians, 7.30pm IST, DY Patil Stadium

May 14: KKR vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, 7.30pm IST, MCA Stadium, Pune

May 18: KKR vs Lucknow Super Giants, 7.30pm IST, DY Patil Stadium.

2. Current NRR, Points

The Kolkata Knight Riders now have 6 points from 7 matches and are placed 7th on the table. But the good thing that their run rate has not entered the negative zone and reads +0.160 at the moment. They need to keep the NRR in the positive space along with winning the matches consistently.

3. Can KKR enter playoffs 2022

In simple terms the answer is yes. The Knight Riders have every chance to enter the IPL 2022 playoffs. Starting from the match against Gujarat Titans on Saturday (April 23), the KKR will have 7 more matches remaining in the IPL 2022. Right now, the KKR have 6 points and they need to reach at least 16 points to maintain the hopes of finding a place in the top 4. So, it means the KKR need to win at least 5 of the remaining 7 matches to keep their play-off hopes alive. They should also ensure that those wins come at good margins to keep a healthy net run rate.

4. KKR squad 2022

Shreyas Iyer (Captain) Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Chamika Karunaratne, Baba Indrajith, Ashok Sharma, Pratham Singh, Abhijeet Tomar, Sam Billings, Aaron Finch, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammed Nabi, Aman Khan, Umesh Yadav.