Ganguly : Before Saturday, it seemed that it's going to be three in a row for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Three very unsuccessful IPL campaigns. However, what started off brilliantly and then plummeted down exponentially got a fresh lease of life when Kings XI Punjab looked clueless against the confident Knights at the PCA stadium. This was perhaps Kolkata's most convincing victory in three years after Brendon McCullum's destruction of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first game of the inaugural season.

But it has to be said the Knight Riders look a different team this year and it's not just the purple jerseys or the absence of the erstwhile omnipresent Shah Rukh Khan. The Knight Riders look more focussed and it looks like they mean business (a different one from the previous two years).

For starters, for the first time their domestic players are coming good. Manoj Tiwary has been their star and finally the batsman is showing why he has been one of the most highly rated players in India. Murali Kartik is bringing his huge experience to good use.

This time in the foreign slots there is less stress on the stars. Owais Shah seems like a great buy from the Daredevils, who themselves could do with some stability in their batting. Angelo Mathews may just do what Shane Watson did for the Rajasthan Royals in the first year. Brendon McCullum is in the form of his life and his arrival in the first week of April is going to boost the Knight Riders further.

However, there was disappointment everywhere when Kolkata showcased perhaps two of the most insipid batting performances after winning back-to-back games this year. The two losses looked like Sourav Ganguly's men are going to do what they do best -- lose big and lose many.

Hopefully for every Kolkata fan, Saturday's win is going to change all that. Performances like this, will surely make them one of the top teams this year.

It's going to be IPL's most romantic dream if the Knight Riders go all the way this year. It is too early to make such predictions but if it happens, this would be IPL's biggest comeback story. And maybe Shah Rukh Khan's biggest hit.