Delhi Capitals Bowling Coach James Hopes Wants Team To Be Focussed And Take One Game At A Time

Oct 7, 2021 at 3:03 PM

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Delhi Capitals Bowling Coach James Hopes Wants Team To Be Focussed And Take One Game At A Time

Under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, Delhi Capitals had a big opportunity to clinch their maiden IPL title last year. Their hopes were dashed at the last hurdle when they suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2020 final last season.

Delhi Capitals’ bowling coach, former Australian cricketer James Hopes wants Rishabh Pant’s men to be focussed this time and wants them to take it one game at a time. DC is currently on top of the points table after beating CSK on Monday.

Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals (Image Credit: Twitter)

Delhi Capitals Bowling Coach James Hopes Wants Team To Be Focussed And Take One Game At A Time

Delhi Capitals, who have already qualified for the play-offs, are dominating the table with 20 points in 13 matches. With one match to go for them in the league stage, they have managed 10 wins and lost on just three occasions in their IPL 2021 campaign so far. James Hopes spoke ahead of the match vs CSK on Monday, which DC eventually won by 3 wickets, with 2 balls remaining.

“We hope we can go all the way, but we are trying to keep the guys really focussed. They need to take it one game at a time. We need to keep building towards the finals,” Hopes said while responding to a question.

James Hopes Image Source: Google
James Hopes Image Source: Google

Delhi Capitals bowlers put out an impressive show before Shimron Hetmyer led his side to a thrilling 3-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021 match at Dubai International Stadium. Delhi, led by a solid Shikhar Dhawan knock, and a cameo from Shimron Hetmyer, successfully chased down 137 in 19.4 overs.

This was also DC’s 4th straight win over CSK in the IPL. Chasing 137, Delhi Capitals got over the line in the last over with two balls to spare. With this win, Delhi now leapfrogged Chennai to the top of the points table.

James Hopes: Current Skipper Rishabh Pant And Former Skipper Shreyas Iyer Complement Each Other Exceptionally Well

Rishabh Pant was appointed captain at the beginning of the 2021 season due to Shreyas Iyer’s shoulder injury, which kept him on the sidelines, and the wicket-keeper batsman managed to lead the team, really well. However, when Shreyas Iyer returned to the side for phase 2 in the UAE, the DC management asked Rishabh Pant to continue as skipper for the rest of the season.

On being asked about the difference in captaincy styles of Pant and Iyer, Hopes said: “They both (Iyer and Pant) plan very well. They’re both calm. They don’t overreact or underreact to the situation. And the thing we’ve seen in the games is that they feed off each other really well when they bat together, their styles complement each other exceptionally well.”

Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer (Image Credit: Twitter)

“Not much has changed, to be honest, it’s like all systems go, like, a few years ago when we made the move to Shreyas (as captain). It was a long-term plan to get this team into this position and just because Shreyas is not captaining at the moment it doesn’t mean that he is not a very senior player in this team. Rishabh has captained the team beautifully and we expect him to continue to do so,” Hopes, who played 84 ODIs and 12 T20Is for Australia between 2005 and 2010, further said.

Shreyas Iyer was supposed to lead Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 season before a shoulder injury ruled him out for the entire campaign. Rishabh Pant was then named the team’s skipper in his absence.  But, despite Shreyas Iyer being fit to feature in the UAE leg of the season, Rishabh Pant retained the captaincy baton.

Shreyas Iyer was fully respectful of the decision made by the DC team management. In fact, the 26-year-old lauded Rishabh Pant for the manner in which he has led the team.

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