SMAT 2025-26 Group D: Deepak Hood guides Rajasthan past Tamil Nadu
Batting implosion, dropped catches, and the unhesitant lucid cold-fury of Deepak Hooda’s unbeaten 76 (36b, 6×4, 6×6) combined to condemn Tamil Nadu to a six-wicket drubbing by Rajasthan in their Elite Group-D match in the opening round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium B-Ground here on Wednesday.
Hooda didn’t so much attack as command the arc straight down the ground. It was an innings built not on improvisation but on an unshakeable certainty: if it was in his arc, it was going straight back where it came from — a blur past the non-striker, past the umpire, past the rope before the fielders even twitched.
He struck five sixes in the ‘V’, the standout being a one-handed straight hit off left-arm spinner Sai Kishore that sailed well beyond the sightscreen. He also swept the same bowler for a couple of fours to deep square leg, before producing an imperious lofted straight drive for a four off pacer Rajkumar.
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He added 60 runs for the third-wicket partnership with Mahipal Lomror (17) and 49 for the fourth-wicket stand with Kartik Sharma (35). Kartik tore into Sai Kishore, hitting him for a long-on six, a pulled six over midwicket, and a straight four — all off successive deliveries.
Hooda was dropped twice — first on 30 by Tamil Nadu captain Varun Chakaravarthy at cover off Rajkumar, and later on 56 by Sai Kishore at deep square leg off Varun.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu’s top and middle order unravelled, thread by thread, until a brain-fade run-out left it tottering at 89 for six.
It took a 32-run seventh-wicket stand between all-rounders Sonu Yadav (43 n.o.) and R. Rajkumar (17), followed by a 30-run eighth-wicket union between Sonu and Varun (11) to drag Tamil Nadu to a competitive total.
Tushar Raheja skied a pull to cover off Ashok Sharma, and Amith Sathvik edged a cut to third man off the same pacer. Shivam Singh top-edged a sweep to deep backward square off Manav Suthar, Jagadeesan slapped Kamlesh Nagarkoti to deep point, Sai Kishore missed a reverse sweep to be bowled off Suthar, and Shahrukh Khan ran himself out going for a quick single.
Published on Nov 26, 2025
