Rajasthan’s Deepak Hooda made a statement on the opening day of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. Released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) after an underwhelming season, Hooda smashed six sixes in his unbeaten 36-ball 76 in the run chase. Varun Chakravarthy faced a comprehensive six-wicket defeat on his Tamil Nadu captaincy debut in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025.
In the run chase of 170 at Narendra Modi Stadium B Ground, Ahmedabad, Hooda had to walk out in the fourth over after Gurjapneet Singh dismissed Bharat Sharma. Hooda took the attacking role, especially targetting left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore and R Rajkumar. Shubham Garhwal falling for a 22-ball 32 to T Natarajan did not affect him as the attacking display continued. Hooda reached his fifty from 22 balls with the help of four sixes and five fours.
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Hooda shared a 67-run partnership for the third wicket with Mahipal Lomror. The left-handed batter became Chakravarthy's only victim of the game. Then, Kartik Sharma arrived at the crease and looked to finish the run chase in a hurry.
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He hit two sixes off Kishore and one each of Chakravarthy and Gurjapneet. He departed for a 17-ball 35 after taking Rajasthan to doorstep of victory. Hooda remained unbeaten for 76 as Rajasthan chased down 170 with 21 balls to spare. Kishore had a forgettable outing, conceding 46 runs from three overs.
Tamil Nadu struggle to post big total despite good start
Earlier, Chakravarthy won the toss and opted to bat first. Tamil Nadu's top order departed in 38 balls but they already had 65 runs on the board. Kishore could not justify the promotion over Shahrukh Khan, getting bowled by Manav Suthar. Shahrukh did not do himself any favours and got run out by Suthar. Narayan Jagadeesan could not continue and departed for a 19-ball 29 cameo to Kamlesh Nagarkoti. Wickets kept falling but it was Sonu Yadav's unbeaten 25-ball 43, laced with two fours and three sixes, that helped Tamil Nadu post 169/8. Batting at no.9, Chakravarthy scored 11 runs from 12 balls.
Hooda intends to make franchises notice before mini-auction
Hooda has not done well in recent Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons. For CSK, he scored just 31 runs from five innings. Earlier, he was at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), he had two consecutive poor seasons. In IPL 2024, he scored 145 runs from nine innings. In IPL 2023, he was backed by the team management but could score only 84 runs from 12 innings. His best at IPL came in 2022 edition for LSG as he scored 451 runs from 14 innings at an average of 32.21 and strike rate of 136.66, including four fifties.
The 30-year-old will have to continue performing well in the ongoing SMAT to pique the interest of franchises.