Deepak Hooda has played for a few franchises over the years, including Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was called up to the Indian team for the T20I series against Sri Lanka in 2017.
But till his swashbuckling knock against the Chennai Super Kings in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, not many knew what he could do with the bat, though he was known for his big-hitting abilities at the Under-19 level and also in his first couple of years in the IPL.
Facing a must-win situation to qualify for the playoffs, Kings XI Punjab's top and middle order succumbed to the pressure and were left reeling at 73 for 4 in 12 overs.
Hooda single-handedly changed the course of the Kings XI innings and powered them to a healthy total.
He started off with singles before he pulled Deepak Chahar for a four off the seventh ball he faced, in the 14th over.
He looked to break free he lofted Imran Tahir for a six over the covers in the 16th over, but the wickets of Mandeep Singh (14) and James Neesham (2) in the space of six deliveries saw Kings XI stumble again.
Hooda cut loose against Lungi Ngidi -- CSK's best bowler till that point. He launched the South African pace bowler for a six over the covers and then repeated the shot a couple of balls later for another maximum.
Shardul Thakur made the mistake of giving him width and Hooda lofted him over the covers for a four and took a single off the next ball to race to his fifty from just 26 balls.
Ngidi came in for more punishment in the final over when Hooda slammed him for a four and a six. He smashed 27 runs from nine balls he faced against Ngidi, who finished with 3 for 39 in his four overs, conceding 29 from his last two overs.
Hooda finished on a career-best 62 from 30 balls that rallied Kings XI Punjab to 153 for six, as they smashed 40 runs from the last three overs.
Sadly, the Kings XI bowlers failed to deliver as CSK ran away to an emphatic nine wicket victory to dash their opponents's hopes of going through.
