'Weren’t defending well, bowling first good': KKR’s Chakravarthy on DC win

Varun Chakravarthy celebrates DC skipper Rishabh Pant’s wicket with Venkatesh Iyer (left) in Kolkata on Monday. Pic/PTI

It's a good toss to win these days, and thus, Delhi Capitals's decision to bat first on Monday took most by surprise.

"We've been having some success putting big scores on the board and trying to defend them, and we knew there wasn't going to be much dew and there wasn't," DC's bowling coach James Hopes justified the choice after the seven-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders.

"I think it was a good option, but we did not bat well enough," said DC skipper Rishabh Pant.

Three of Capitals's five victories had come while defending totals, most notably the ones leading up to Monday's match, with both Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians falling short last week. Lost, of course, was the fact that Eden Gardens was lending itself nicely to high-scoring chases and the Knights were recent victims twice, with Punjab Kings getting past their 261 for a T20 world record.

Man-of-the-Match Varun Chakravarthy, who snared three for 16 in his four overs, said KKR weren't defending well of late and "that we got to bowl first was good".