'Moneyball' Rajasthan Royals does it again: Teenager Hooda is proving to be the find of IPL 8

Rajasthan Royals have a history of unearthing underrated or unheard of players. In the first few seasons they gave us Ravindra Jadeja and Yusuf Pathan, and then later the likes of Sanju Samson, Pravin Tambe and Karun Nair.

Royals are the ‘Moneyball’ team of the IPL. They don’t go for expensive purchases but get the best out of low-key players instead. And now it seems as though they have done it again this season with Deepak Hooda.

Hooda, the youngest player in the IPL, has played a crucial role in both the Rajasthan Royals wins this season, and it was the 19-year-old’s temperament that stood out in both matches. In their opening match against Kings XI Punjab in Pune, he strode to the crease in the 11th over with Royals in trouble at 74/4, and saw Stuart Binny depart almost immediately for the addition of just one run.

Despite all the pressure however, Hooda remained calm, scored four runs off the first four balls he faced, and then launched a scathing attack to release the pressure,  He was the main aggressor, hitting 30 off 15 balls with three sixes and a four, while James Faulkner played second fiddle. He added 51 crucial runs with Faulkner to pull his side out of inertia and that partnership proved to be crucial in their 26-run victory.

Against Delhi Daredevils, at Feroz Shah Kotla, once again Hooda soaked up the pressure and played a match-winning innings of 54 off 24 balls.

Chasing a daunting target of 185, Hooda walked in with the score at 78/4 in the 11th over. And just like the first match, he started cautiously. But once he got his eye in, he launched a brutal attack on Angelo Mathews.

First, he clobbered him over wide long on for a six - a shot with shades of Dhoni’s helicopter in it. He then shuffled across and flicked the next one through square leg for four. Mathews bowled the next ball wide outside off, but Hooda adjusted well and thumped it through point for another boundary to make it 19 runs from the over.

Hooda mixed calmness with aggression well against Delhi. And what was most impressive about his innings was that he remained fearless in spite of surviving a run out chance (on 23) and a dropped catch (on 31).

He kept the scoreboard ticking even as Ajinkya Rahane was struggling to get going. Also impressive was his use of the crease. Jaydev Unadkat was trying to bowl yorkers but Hooda tried to disturb his line and length by moving across and going deep inside the crease. He hammered the first delivery over wide long on for a six in the 15th over and then was lucky when Manoj Tiwary fluffed a catch at deep mid-wicket which went for another six off the next one.

His approach was clever. He picked up clever ones and twos off leg-spinners - Amith Mishra and Imran Tahir, and took on the pacers instead.

Rahane departed at a crucial juncture with 55 needed off 29 balls but Hooda continued to attack, and hit the next ball he faced after Rahane’s departure for a huge six over long on off the best DD bowler - Tahir.

He got to his fifty with a shot that not many could have played. He gave himself room but Coulter-Nile followed him with a sharp bouncer, Hooda had the presence of mind to know the third man was up and therefore opened the face of the bat to guide the ball wide of short third man for a boundary. 50 off 22 balls was the fastest fifty of this year’s IPL.

He finally departed for 54 off the first ball of the penultimate over by Tahir, but by then he had set it up nicely for Faulkner and the lower-order with 19 needed off 11. Royals eventually won the match as Southee hit a four off the last ball with 3 needed.

But it was Hooda who had injected the much-needed momentum and played a crucial knock. He was deservedly named the Man of the Match.

It wasn’t just his batting either. Earlier, he had choked the Daredevils batsmen with a frugal spell of 20/0 from four overs .

After the match Hooda said, “I went in with a clear mind. Enjoyed my off day and Rahane bhai just told me to build a partnership, rotate the strike and I did just that. When he was walking back he told me that ‘you are a good player, you can do it.’”

In his short cricketing career so far, Hooda has already achieved a lot. He shot to prominence in the 2013/14 Under-19 World Cup where he ended as the second highest run-getter (235 runs at 78.33) and second-highest wicket taker (11 wickets from 5 innings at 16.72) for India.

He then went one step further and became only the second Baroda batsman to score a century on first-class debut after Snehal Parikh in 1981-82, against Bengal in the opening match of the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy.

He followed it up with brilliant performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy where he ended up as highest run-getter (202 at 50.50) and top wicket-taker (10 wickets at 16.30) for Baroda.

He has the shots in his armoury but his greatest strengths are his ability to soak pressure and his self confidence.

In an interview to ESPNCricinfo, Bharat Arun, who was the U-19 World Cup coach said, “Hooda is a guy with amazing confidence. He is our go-to man. It’s not so much the quantity of the runs, but the quality matters. He remains very cool under pressure and it reflects on his bowling too.

Hooda has come a long way from his Under-19 days and a lot of credit goes to the Rajasthan Royals team management for the development of the youngster.

“It’s been 2 years and I have improved”, he said when reminded about how he was not hitting huge sixes in the Under-19 World Cup. “Rajasthan Royals put up camps before the IPL and they made me play the role of an aggressor during that time, I did the same out there today”.

Hooda also credited Rajasthan Royals and team mentor Rahul Dravid for his success.

“They trusted me and I am just happy to repay their trust. Grateful to God that he helped me all along. Rahul Dravid always tells me that take the game to the end, believe in your ability and you will do it,” he said.

Hooda was signed up by Rajasthan Royals last season but didn’t get a game. Still, he learned a lot watching from the sidelines.

“There is a bit of a difference between Under-19 and IPL but I have been lucky to get people all along my journey who have guided me the right way. Last season I was with RR and I learnt a lot. I did not play many matches but learnt how to absorb pressure,” Hooda said

“I was also 12th man in the last three matches and that also added to my ability. So I was mentally equipped to handle this kind of pressure. I have to be ready to take pressure at my batting position,” he added.

Not only his batting, Hooda concentrates a lot on his bowling too. “I bowl regularly in the nets. I know I am an all-rounder and I have to deliver as one,” he said in the post-match conference. In Hooda, the Royals have unearthed a gem.