Deepak Hooda proved his prowess with the willow by belting a stunning century in the second T20I against Ireland as India won the thrilling final match by four runs to sweep the two-match series on Tuesday (June 28).
Hooda scored 104 off 57 balls to become only the fourth Indian to hit a T20 International ton, while Sanju Samson contributed 77 off 42 balls to power India to a mammoth 225 for seven after opting to bat. Ireland took the chase to the last over but they eventually fell short as rookie India pacer Umran Malik defended 17 runs in the final over.
Hooda's spectacular batting drew legendary India all-rounder Irfan Pathan's attention who is in awe of his Dublin performance as he revealed his conversation on scoring a century with the India star.
Irfan took to Twitter to reveal that he had asked the batter to score a ton in IPL where he played for Lucknow Super Giants in the last edition. While Hooda was exceptional as a batter throughout IPL 2022, he made the most of the opportunity presented to him in the Ireland series to make a case for himself in India's T20 World Cup squad.
“During the IPL, Spoke to @HoodaOnFire abt getting 100 but even better for him to get the century for Team India! So so proud of this boy.” Irfan tweeted.
Hooda had a decent run in the recently concluded IPL 2022, where he scored a total of 451 runs in 15 matches for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at an average of 32.21
Hooda had never opened in a cricket match in his career, but was asked to take the role alongside Ishan Kishan in the 1st T20I against Ireland on Sunday. He scored a 29-ball 47 in India's win in the rain-hit match before scoring 104 in the second game against Ireland.
Hooda became the fourth India batter to score a ton in T20Is after Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Suresh Raina and third on overseas soil. Hooda now also has the highest score by an India batter against Ireland.
"I am coming from a good IPL, I was trying to follow up the same performance here as well. I like playing aggressively. Batting up the order, I have the time, I try to play according to the situation," he said in the post-match presentation where he was adjudged the Player of the Match and Player of the Series.
