New Delhi, May 4 (IANS) Delhi Capitals bowling coach Munaf Patel stressed that while every game is played with the intent to win, the side has moved past its ‘relaxed mode’ and is now firmly focused on maintaining the winning momentum if they are to enter the IPL 2026 playoffs.

Both DC and Chennai Super Kings, their opponents in Tuesday’s clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, are at eight points. But DC are at seventh spot due to their net run rate being in negative. With both teams in a similar situation, it will be a crucial game for DC to prove that their campaign revival is for real after chasing down 226 against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.

“You don’t have any other option but to win the match. Obviously, we play every match to win, but now the relaxed mode is over. If you want to qualify, you have to win all the matches. We have won and we have forgotten that. If we keep remembering that, we will lose again. It is better that we forget that and move forward with the momentum of the winning match,” said Munaf in the pre-match press conference.

DC need a string of consistent performances to climb further in the points table, but their campaign has been hampered by just one victory at home this season. With the tournament entering its business end and surfaces expected to get slower, Munaf expressed full confidence in his premier spin twins, Kuldeep Yadav and skipper Axar Patel, to exploit the conditions.

“Our job is to motivate them. We tell them about their mistakes and make them improve. Once you are on the ground, my and Hemang’s say is over as once you are on the field, the players have to do it all. You can motivate them as much as you want.

“But until they are motivated, or they can’t bowl on their strength, or deliver as per the batter’s weakness, you can’t do anything. Confidence always comes from winning. I always believe that you can’t give confidence by losing. You are talking about slow wickets – the spinners who play in the T20 World Cup, Kuldeep and Axar, they are there anyway.

“There is no question that they won’t play because we have one of the best spin bowling units. We don’t have a reason to complain about slow wickets. If the wickets are slow, it is better for us because we have top spinners and it will benefit us.”

At the same time, Munaf also suggested that the pitches, which have seen batters power their way to make 200-plus scores, may not be as sluggish as many expect.

“If it slows down, it’s very good for us. I said earlier that our spinners are one of the best in the tournament. But I feel that the wickets won’t be as slow as we think and they used to be before because you get time.

“If you get 5 days and go somewhere else to play, it’s fine. If you get a 4-day break, then 4-5 days is enough to make a wicket unless and until the weather changes – if it rains, the wicket is covered, then it can slow down. Otherwise, I don’t think that the wickets will be as slow as we think they will be.

“They won’t be that slow – I mean, they can be 20 percent, but not 50 percent. It can be absolutely because the wickets are not as slow as we think they will be. But it’s not happening as you see, we just played a match in Rajasthan and we chased 226. So I believe that there will be 200 runs made in games by batters.”

On the tactical front, Munaf dismissed the notion of bowlers blindly imitating successful trends – like Krunal Pandya bowling bouncers or slinging deliveries at will or CSK pacer Anshul Kamboj getting immense success by bowling from round the wicket, especially in death overs.

“See, everyone has their own bowling style. If Krunal is doing it and you try to make it happen from Axar, he can’t do it because he didn’t do it. So, you can’t go out of the box. Every bowler has his own strength. He will do what he does every day. More than that, you can add a ball.

“For example, you can add a slower ball, you can add a knuckle ball, you can add a bouncer. You can add them. But it’s not like you have to go out of the box and do the same thing that if one is successful, everyone will be successful. It’s not like that and this is what I think.”

–IANS

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