Deepak Hooda has been a player rejuvenated since the beginning of the year; rising up to become an integral part of India's white-ball plans.
An unfulfilled talent for the better part of his career, spin allrounder Deepak Hooda has been a cricketer rejuvenated since the beginning of the IPL 2022.
Finding an encouraging bid from the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the former Baroda striker performed a critical role for IPL’s latest entrants, before claiming a place in the Indian white-ball set-up prior to the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Tasked with important middle-order duties, Hooda relished role clarity and assurance provided to him by first-timers LSG as he had his most fruitful IPL season with the bat. The right-hander smashed 451 runs over 14 innings at a strike-rate of 136.66, including four half-centuries.
It was a campaign that reignited the fire within Deepak Hooda, who soon became an integral part of India’s T20I plans and has now reached Australia for his first-ever major ICC event at the international stage despite only 8 ODIs and 12 T20Is for India behind him.
In a year in which Hooda has quietly carved out his own space in India’s limited-overs scene after a very successful IPL season, here are knocks that have seen the best of the undoubtedly talented cricketer this year.
51 vs SRH, IPL 2022
After a slowish start to the IPL 2022, Hooda got into his own come the league stage encounter against the 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). In a relatively low-scoring fixture that LSG won only by 12 runs, Hooda was perhaps the difference between the two sides in scoring 51 off 33 balls, which helped his team reach a competitive, and eventually match-winning, score of 169/7.
Walking in at No.5 with LSG in deep trouble at 27 for 3, Hooda not only allowed them to keep themselves in the contest but also reinforced his talent and promise with the bat in hand. His innings featured 3 fours and 3 sixes and was a fantastic exhibition of what he is capable of on his day.
59 vs RR, IPL 2022
Later in the tournament, Hooda proved to be his team’s lone-batting warrior in a painstaking loss to the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Batting in the middle-order, Hooda arrived with LSG in strife for a difficult chase of 179 runs. The batter lost regular partners at the other end but never conceded defeat in spirits, taking the game back to the opposition via his knock of 59 off 39 balls, including 5 fours and 2 sixes. Till Hooda was there, he kept the LSG’s hopes going.
104 vs IRE, T20I
Making the trip to Dublin as part of an alternate Indian T20I side missing the big names, Deepak Hooda ended the brief trip by joining an esteemed list of men’s batters with a hundred in the shortest format for India. Hooda smashed the inexperienced Ireland attack for a knock of 104 off just 57 balls in a high-scoring fixture.
The right-hander played some quality strokes throughout his knock, be it off the front or the backfoot, finishing with a whopping 9 fours and 6 sixes to allow India to post a gigantic 225/7. Given the way Hooda cut and punched the short-length ball through this knock, it can be said it was in Dublin that he booked his ticket to Australia, where his strong backfoot game shall come in very handy.
52 vs DC, IPL 2022
Going back to the IPL for another very impressive effort with the bat, where Hooda made a telling difference in LSG’s league-stage encounter versus the Delhi Capitals (DC). Sent in at No.3, the right-hander blazed his willow for a 34-ball 52, which helped Lucknow reach an intimidating score of 195/3. LSG eventually won the high-scoring thriller by six runs, with our man playing a significant part in it alongside KL Rahul, who made 77 off 51 deliveries.
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