NEWS
Follow UsDelhi Capitals bowling coach James Hopes has backed Anrich Nortje after the paceman went for 48 runs, including 25 in the final over, against Rajasthan Royals on March 28 (Thursday).
The South African pacer was out of action for more than six months and was playing his first game of the Indian Premier League 2024.
The Capitals had a good start with the ball, reducing Rajasthan to 36/3 in 7.2 overs. Riyan Parag, however, stepped up and smashed 84* off 45 to take his team to 185.
In the final over of the innings, the No.4 batter whacked Nortje for three fours and two maximums. Delhi eventually lost the game by 12 runs, registering their second defeat of the season.
"I won't say too much bad about the bowlers. They tried their best, they tried to execute. It's the first time that Anrich Nortje has been at this level in a while. He's had a fair time out of the game. If you look at all the numbers, he's one of the premier death bowlers in the game,” said Hopes.
“So we assume that he's going to keep getting better, and we trust that he will. And, yeah, we just let him get probably 20-30 too many in that last. Parag finished the game beautifully.”
In response, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and Rishabh Pant all got starts but none of them could finish the game. Tristan Stubbs (23-ball 44*) tried his best but it was still not enough.
"We need to tidy up what we do at the end of the game like it's one game. I'm not going to judge us too harshly on one game. We need to tidy up our middle over batting,” said Hopes.
“We tend to get stuck a little bit in phases there, and, we know the fix for that, and is Pant and he's played two games after a long, long layoff, and I think you're gonna see some pretty special things from him in the next few weeks.”
