SMAT 2025-26: Smaran wants to better acceleration, Deepak Hooda sticks to the basics
Format, opposition, conditions — nothing seems to matter to R. Smaran in his current form. The Karnataka batter continued his prolific run with a career-best 67 (41b, 7×4, 2×6) — his second T20 fifty — to set up a successful chase of 198 against Uttarakhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Karnataka got home with five wickets to spare.
Smaran later reflected that coming into the tournament on the back of a heavy run-scoring Ranji season helped, allowing him to “carry over confidence” and have a positive start to the campaign.
The 22-year-old explained that his role in the T20 setup is “very simple” — “to take the game deep and finish things off.”
A compact, clean-hitting batter, Smaran is especially strong against spin, using his long levers to access both sides of the wicket. He displayed it against leg-spinner Himanshu Bish, launching two towering sixes down the ground. There were no funky strokes in his knock — just pure, orthodox ball-striking.
“You need to get your basics right in order to get those big hits. But I think I’m not a guy who can straight away go in and get those big hits. That is something I’m trying to work on – to get going from ball one,” he said.
He added that he’s been working on playing the reverse sweep. “Both point and short third will be in (inside the circle) for the spinners. And I think if you get that shot right, it straightaway puts pressure on the bowler.”
Deepak Hooda has just one goal in mind – making his way back to the Indian team.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Deepak Hooda has just one goal in mind – making his way back to the Indian team.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Hooda’s simple mantra
Deepak Hooda struck an unbeaten blistering 76 (36b, 6×4, 6×6), breaking Tamil Nadu’s spirit, in Rajasthan’s six-wicket win in the opening round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Speaking after the win, he said: “To be honest, we had only two days (for preparation) after the Ranji Trophy. So, I was just trying to stick to the basics – I believe T20 is all about being proactive and backing your instincts. I was doing that from ball one.”
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Hooda seemed to particularly target the ‘V’ down the ground. A striking aspect of his innings was his charging and stretching forward, attempting to get to the pitch of the ball. “If you look at the ground dimensions (Narendra Modi Stadium B-ground), the straight boundary is shorter. If you go close to the ball, you would get the chance to hit it straight. So, that’s what I was thinking,” he said.
Asked if he had any goal he wants to achieve this T20 season, the 30-year-old said: “I want to play for India, and I have to score runs for that. That’s what I want to do. However many runs I can score, I will score.”
Published on Nov 26, 2025
