"Just shows how India have underutilized him"- Fans react as Deepak Hooda records best T20I figures for India in NZ

Deepak Hooda's bowling was the perfect icing on the cake for India as they beat hosts New Zealand by 65 runs at Mount Maunganui to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The all-rounder bowled three overs and recorded fantastic figures of 4/10, the best by an Indian bowler on Kiwi soil.

There was a lot of talk about Hooda not being given enough bowling even after being a part of the T20 World cup squad. He even played a game against South Africa, but wasn't used by captain Rohit Sharma.

However, fans on Twitter were pleasantly surprised to see him bowl so well and believe he could be a real asset for the Men in Blue going forward. Here are some of the reactions:

Deepak Hooda was kept in the WC squad without even once giving his bowling a try and here we are experimenting straight after in the bilaterals again. Hooda gets 4.

Deepak Hooda picked 4 wickets for 10 runs as India defeated New Zealand by 65 runs. https://t.co/OqxgBE2M2l

Deepak Hooda taking 4/10 vs NZ, is apt summary of how India play bilaterals. They still haven't played their best XI but find a way to win with random performers.

Not sure if you learnt anything apart from knowing that Sky was once again too good and got them the score.

For me it’s no less than a hat trick for Deepak Hooda

Hooda 4/10… 🥹

Deepak Hooda takes 4/10 and they say Fantasy is a game of skill.

Hooda is a very decent defensive bowler man. No captain uses him enough in international cricket or IPL.

Two brilliant defensive overs back to back which eventually drew a false shot.

For India In T20Is

Best Bowling Fig in NZ

4/10 - Deepak Hooda*
3/12 - Jasprit Bumrah
3/28 - Krunal Pandya

#INDvsNZ

Hooda taking 4 wickets feels like Jale par namak.... #INDvNZ

Deepak Hooda took a 4-fer. Oh my goodnessssss🙏🤯.

Hooda 4 wickets Pandaya justified his selection with bowling wonderful thumping victory India and Pandaya 🥁🥁🥁🥁

Deepak Hooda has figures of 4/10 in the very first match he has bowled since the Afghanistan game in Asia Cup where he picked Rashid Khan's wicket in the only over he bowled.

Just shows how India have underutilised him. #NZvsIND

Might be a meaningless four-fer in a meaningless bilateral but a top-order batter who can bowl is gold for India.

Given the conditions expected at the next T20WC, a matchup bowler would be fab. Hooda needs a steady batting role too. Can't be batting below 4.

#NZvIND

Indian victory on overseas soil 👏. Well done Deepak Hooda

hooda under KL Rahul vs afg: 1-0-3-1
hooda under hardik vs NZ: 3-0-10-4

meanwhile rohit sharma never used him as a spinner..never forget never forgive twitter.com/jattuu12/statu…

Clinical performance by Team India in the field

Suryakumar Yadav's hundred had given the bowlers a mammoth target of 192 to defend, and they began in the right possible fashion. Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed the dangerous Finn Allen early, and the other bowlers didn't let Devon Conway and Kane Williamson break free.

Slow bowlers Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal did a really good job as they picked up wickets at regular intervals. Captain Hardik Pandya introduced Hooda as the sixth bowler and that proved to be a fine decision as he removed the dangerous Daryl Mitchell.

Hooda got to bowl the 19th over too, and picked up three more wickets to bowl out New Zealand for just 126. This will give him a lot of confidence to contribute consistently as an all-rounder.

New Zealand XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Lockie Ferguson.

India XI: Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya (c), Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.