After consistently knocking on the doors of the Indian team, Deepak Hooda finally got his opportunity at the international level as he made his debut against West Indies. At 26, Hooda was honoured to receive his first cap from former Indian skipper Virat Kohli and thanked everyone who was involved with him during his cricketing journey. Hooda scored an unbeaten 26 off 32 deliveries as India beat West Indies in the first ODI to take a 1-0 lead as he shared his delight on Twitter.
“Truly honoured and blessed on getting the opportunity to represent my country. A very special and dream come true moment for me to receive the cap from @imVkohli bhaiya. Thank you to each and everyone involved in this wonderful journey!!,” Hooda’s wrote in a tweet.
Hooda, along with Suryakumar Yadav put together an unbeaten stand of 62 runs to guide India home. While Suryakumar was the aggressive one with 34 off 36 deliveries, Hooda played a supporting role which included two fours. The Baroda player had to wait for more than four years to get his first cap, as he was warmed the bench on several occasions, having first made the squad in 2017.
Hooda's partner at the other end, Suryakumar underlined Hooda's domestic experience as it proved crucial in India's six-wicket win at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (February 6).
“Things were really clear; he (Hooda) has played a lot of domestic cricket, so he knew the situation really well. So we were having little conversations and setting little goals (in our partnership). His confidence was spot on though,” Suryakumar said after India's first win of the year.
Hooda will now be determined to make most of his opportunity as first-team regulars Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya are all unavailable for various reasons. The first match also served as a landmark moment for Team India as they won their 1000th ODI and Yuzvendra Chahal became the second-fastest spinner after Kuldeep Yadav to take 100 wickets for India in the 50-over format.
The second ODI will be played on Wednesday (February 9) at the same venue as Team India will try to seal the series.
