‘Not Going To Judge Us Too Harshly On One Game,’ Says Delhi Capitals’ Bowling Coach James Hopes After Loss Vs Rajasthan Royals
Jaipur: Despite Delhi Capitals’ second loss on the trot, bowling coach James Hopes backed his boys to come out good in the remaining games and not judge on the basis of just two games. Led by Rishabh Pant, Delhi Capitals restricted Rajasthan Royals to 185/5 in 20 overs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday. The hosts then restricted the Delhi Capitals to 173/5, thus winning by 12 runs.
Delhi Capitals were on the top of their game till the eighth over of Rajasthan Royals, before Riyan Parag took the game away with a 45-ball 84 which included seven fours and six sixes. “I won’t say too much bad about the bowlers. They just tried to execute. It was a good first half with the ball but got away from us a little bit in the last five years,” Hopes, a former Australian international, said.
South African Anrich Nortje, who has missed Delhi Capitals’ pre-season training, joined the team late and played his first game on Thursday. However, it was a game to remember for the Proteas pacer as he conceded 48 runs in four overs, taking just one wicket. Hopes said Nortje will get better with time.
“It’s the first time that Nortje has been at this level in a while. He had a fair time out of the game, but if you look at all the numbers, he is one of the premier death bowlers in the game. We trust that he is going to keep getting better,” he added.
In the chase, Mitchell Marsh and David Warner started well for Delhi Capitals but once the Australian duo was out, the team just crumbled under pressure. Tristan Stubbs did try his best at the end, but he lacked support from his teammates.
“With the bat, we started really well, we were in front of the game, and then fell away a little bit in the middle. They bowled 10 overs of death bowling pretty much at us, and executed it well,” he further highlighted.
When asked about his early assessments and improvement areas for the team, Hopes said, “We need to tidy up what we do at the end of the game. It’s one game, I don’t even count the first game because we had to take a bowler out to get an extra batter in and then Ishant went down, so I’m not going to judge us too harshly on one game.”
“We need to tidy up our middle over batting too. We tend to get stuck a little bit in phases there. We know the fix for that is Rishabh Pant. He has played two games after a long layoff and I think you’re going to see some pretty special things from him in the next few weeks,” he concluded. The Delhi Capitals will take on Chennai Super Kings in their next game at the ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.