Star of the Day: Deepak Hooda

Name: Deepak Hooda

Team: Puneri Paltan

Position: Raider

Puneri Paltan moved to second spot in Zone A after a comfortable 38-15 victory over Jaipur Pink Panthers at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Wednesday. The win was a crucial one given that it kept Pune’s chances of topping their zone alive by setting up a mouth-watering clash against Gujarat Fortunegiants in the final league stage match of the season on Friday.

Pune can thank their captain Deepak Hooda for the win after his outstanding display – especially in the second half – completely deflated Jaipur, who had kept things tight in the first half. Hooda managed a game-high 14 points on the night as he proved too hot to handle in both attack and defence.

He brought up his Super 10 late in the match and was pivotal to his team's two All-Outs on Jaipur. Hooda also made his presence felt while defending and picked up a total of three tackle points which underlines his defensive contribution to Pune.