Burden of captaincy affecting Shubman Gill's batting?

Delhi Capitals bowling coach James Hopes said his team is looking forward to beginning its home stretch against the 'freight train' called Sunrisers Hyderabad as it aims for a resurgent run after some early setbacks in IPL 2024.

Delhi thrashed Gujarat Titans by six wickets after bowling them out for 89 runs on Wednesday. The team will now play three back-to-back home games, starting with the contest against SRH on Saturday.

SRH have been flying high and have twice posted record-breaking IPL totals in this edition. They registered the highest ever in the history of IPL, when they blazed a mammoth 287/3 -- in their last game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

"We are running into the freight train next game, which is SRH. We have already started preparing for that. So we are hopeful if we have a good week and a half we would be top-four," Hopes said after the game.

Gujarat Titans' senior batter David Miller defended skipper Shubman Gill, who had a rare bad day against Delhi.

Gill was dismissed for eight as four of Gujarat's top-six failed to reach double-digit scores with the 2022 champions folded for their lowest IPL total of 89 in 17.3 overs. The GT opener has tallied 263 runs in seven games at a strike rate of 151, with two fifties, to be fifth in the run-scoring list for IPL 2024.

Gill's usual consistency has been missing as he has perished for below 20 in three innings, while twice he has fallen in the 30s.

"I don't think it affected the result. We have got seven-eight batters and everyone is capable of winning games," the veteran South African batter said at the post-match interaction.

Asked whether the burden of captaincy is weighing Gill down, the South African said: "No, not at all. He has scored 250-plus runs from seven games, so he's batting superbly.

"It was just a bit sticky tonight, he played a bit early and got caught to cover another day he would hit it for four. He's batting superbly. He's got a lot of runs so far and a lot still to come."

"A couple of wickets were really unlucky and strange dismissals. I thought the wicket was a bit sticky. But it was certainly not a 89 all out wicket... Definitely below par tonight. We can make all the excuses in the world but at the end of the day we didn't play good cricket."

He further backed their head coach Ashish Nehra who was widely credited for GT's historic triumph in their IPL debut season in 2022.

"No, there's nothing wrong with him at all. We really enjoy his enthusiasm, his passion for the game. Off the field, he's got a gift for really making a lot of time for every single player, getting around and making sure that guys are in a good space, whether they're not playing or if they're playing."

"He's so passionate. He really wants the guys to do well and very supportive at the same breath. So, there's nothing wrong with him at all, just a lot of passion," Miller said.

• IPL 2024