Having lifted England’s fielding standards from doldrums while taking them to two white ball trophies, the 2019 50 over World Cup and 2021 T20 win, 43-year-old Carl Hopkinson had a stellar run as their specialist fielding coach. But when ECB let him go after the West Indies tour, he was quickly snapped up by Mumbai Indians.
MI hadn’t quite set any stage on fire until on Sunday with slim win pickings, and we’re careening towards a defeat with Karun Nair going hammer and tongs for a 40 ball-89 as Delhi pursued 206. Defensive spinners, as Mitchell Santner explained, would find eventual success, as Nair, Tristan Stubbs, KL Rahul and Ashutosh Sharma were packed off to the pavilion, with each capable of being dangerous. However Delhi were just 26 runs away when Vipraj Nigam departed.
To clean up the bottom order, with Ashutosh taking Capitals to 192/7, needed a sprinkling of magic. And it was made possible by MI’s fielding unit, as Will Jacks started the wondrous hat-trick show.
A quick pick-up left of deep point, and then quicker release saw Ashutosh who needed to go around Bumrah for the second run, forced to dive. But Jacks’ throw on bounce was cleanly collected by Ryan Rickelton and MI opened a toehold. Next it was substitute Raj Angad Bawa who covered good ground and zipped across a clean throw again at batting end, to let Rickelton avenge his middle stump googly dismissal by Kuldeep Yadav. It was the smoothest mangos from Raj Angad to Ryan.
Earlier Rickelton had effected one of the sharpest stumping off Santner who bowled a dawdler dragging length back, and we’ll wide to fox Nigam. Those were some snap second reflexes, even prompting umpires to check if Rickelton was in line with stumps – he wasn’t.
𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦! 💙
3⃣ run-outs, high drama and #MI walk away with a thrilling win to break #DC‘s unbeaten run 👊
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/sp4ar866UD#TATAIPL | #DCvMI | @mipaltan pic.twitter.com/q9wvt5yqoe
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2025
Santner would complete the hat-trick of runouts for a famous win, as hid sensational direct hit from midwicket wrapped up Mohit Sharma.
MI would celebrate the win at the hotel getting the hat-trick heroes including Hopkinson to pose for a picture. But it is the Sussex player’s work with Rickelton that has been a curious reel since start of the season.
Wearing his meta-AI enhanced ‘Hoppo glasses’, the tech-juiced up Rayban Wayfarers, Hopkinson has been projecting bowling lines and angles even as Rickelton goes about his wicket keeping drills. These are addictive videos, as you can follow the ball trajectory (precise line and lengths), the deviations after bounce and just how quickly the Saffer keeper moves against spinners with his reflex glovework.
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The Hoppo glasses (AI projected vision) capture the keeper’s entire technique even as the coach has been using various rampways to toss the ball and make it explode and nick, to simulate spinners, Karn Sharma and Mitchell Santner.
On Sunday, Delhi was deflated by Mumbai’s stellar fielders and keeper.