Kolkata Knight Riders

The Kolkata Knight Riders (also known by the acronym KKR) are a franchise cricket team representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League. The franchise is owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta. The team is currently captained by Gautam Gambhir and coached by Jacques Kallis, a former player of the team. The home of the Knight Riders is Eden Gardens, the largest cricket stadium in India and the third largest in the world by seating capacity.

Although the team has gained immense popularity due to its association with celebrity owners, it was surrounded with controversy and poor on-field performance through the first three years of the tournament. The team's performance, however, improved from the fourth season as it qualified for the IPL playoffs and made it to the Champions League Twenty20. They eventually became the IPL champions for the first time in 2012, by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final and repeated the feat in 2014, defeating Kings XI Punjab. The Knight Riders hold the record for the longest winning streak by any Indian team in T20s (14).

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts

KKR & Co. L.P. (formerly known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.) is an American multinational private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts, headquartered in New York City. The firm sponsors and manages private equity investment funds. A pioneer in the leveraged buyout industry, the firm has completed over $400 billion of private equity transactions since its inception.

The firm was founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., and cousins Henry Kravis and George R. Roberts, all of whom had previously worked together at Bear Stearns, where they completed some of the earliest leveraged buyout transactions. Since its founding, KKR has completed a number of landmark transactions including the 1989 leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco, which was the largest buyout in history to that point, as well as the 2007 buyout of TXU, which is currently the largest buyout completed to date. KKR has completed investments in over 160 companies since 1977, completing at least one investment in every year except in 1982 and in 1990.

Shakib Al Hasan

Shakib Al Hasan (born 24 March 1987) is a professional cricket player who plays for the Bangladesh national cricket team. Shakib is widely regarded as the greatest cricketer to have ever played for Bangladesh. He became the first and only cricketer in history to attain the number 1 all-rounder position in all formats of cricket (Test, Twenty20 and One Day Internationals).

Born in Magura, Khulna, Shakib started playing cricket at an early age. He developed a left-handed batting style in the middle order combined with a slow left-arm orthodox bowling. He continued his endeavor by joining BKSP, the top sports academy in Bangladesh. In 2004, at the age of 17, he was drafted by Khulna to play in the National Domestic League. He first represented Bangladesh at the U-19 level. In August 2006, the 19 year old Shakib made his national team debut against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club. He played an important part in Bangladesh's victory, where he scored 30 runs and bowled out Elton Chigumbura to get his first ODI wicket.

2014 Indian Premier League

The 2014 season of the Indian Premier League, abbreviated as IPL 7 or Pepsi IPL 2014, was the seventh season of the IPL, established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. The tournament featured eight teams, one fewer than in 2013 after the withdrawal of the Pune Warriors India, and was held from 16 April 2014 to 1 June 2014. The opening ceremony was held in the UAE on 15 April 2014. The Mumbai Indians were the defending champions, having won the 2013 season. Kolkata Knight Riders won the tournament, defeating Kings XI Punjab by 3 wickets in the final. The average attendance was 31,750.

A part of this season was held outside India after previous Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde denied the provision of security the league demanded as it clashed with the 2014 general election. The tournament was jointly hosted by India and the United Arab Emirates. The opening 20 matches were held in the UAE at three different stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah with the tournament returning to India on 2 May.

Knight

A knight (/naɪt/) is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a monarch or other political leader for service to the Monarch or country, especially in a military capacity. Historically, in Europe, knighthood has been conferred upon mounted warriors. During the High Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility. By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior. Often, a knight was a vassal who served as a fighter for a lord, with payment in the form of land holdings. The lords trusted the knights, who were skilled in battle on horseback. Since the early modern period, the title of knight is purely honorific, usually bestowed by a monarch, as in the British honours system, often for non-military service to the country. The modern female equivalent is Dame.