The Knight Riders claimed a 28-run victory in Kolkata on Wednesday, putting 163-8 on the board after batting first and restricting Punjab to 135-8.
Chawla said Kolkata’s eight-match winning run is something the franchise holds dear, and one more triumph would take them to their second title in three years.
“Obviously winning eight games in a row it’s obviously a big, big achievement and we have done really well as a unit and as a team we are very proud of it,” Chawla said, after playing against his former T20 side.
Chawla, who snared 1-23 off four overs including the wicket of the in-form David Miller, spoke highly of Kolkata’s bowling attack and hailed their versatility.
“You can say that because we’ve got quality bowlers. Sunil (Narine) is there, then Morne (Morkel), one of the fastest bowlers, and then Shakib (Al Hasan) plays a very important role in the middle overs, and myself and Umesh (Yadav),” Chawla said.
“The bunch is really good because when we go into the game, most other teams go in with four main bowlers and one part-timer but we go in with five main bowlers which really makes a huge difference.
“Obviously people say it’s about the batsmen. But no matter, you get 250 runs on the board, but if you don’t have good bowlers you can’t defend that.”
Chawla bowled Miller for eight off 12 balls at a critical point on Wednesday, restricting Punjab to 82-5 and making it two Kolkata wickets in three balls.
“I missed out on the last two games and it was much needed to come back strongly,” Chawla said.
“I am really happy, I bowled a crucial spell and got the big wicket of Miller.”
Kings XI coach Sanjay Bangar said light rain throughout their chase affected their mentality, with constant thoughts on trying to be ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis method total while also trying to build their innings.
“I just thought the drizzle really spoilt it a bit, because I thought 160 was a par score on this wicket,” Bangar said.
“It just was that the batsmen out in the middle just got a bit flustered by the rain showers and because of that I think we lost momentum midway through the innings.
“I just thought that even at that time the rain came down particularly at the right time for our opponents.
“But nothing to take away from them, they played better on the day and I think they deserve to be the winners tonight.”
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