India all-rounder Deepak Hooda has said that it was his dream to get his debut cap from either Virat Kohli or MS Dhoni and it was great to see that fulfilled in the first ODI against West Indies.
Rohit Sharma and his side registered a 44-run win in the second ODI to gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Prasidh Krishna's four-wicket haul helped India defend 237 and defeat West Indies by 44 runs in the second ODI at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
"I made my debut in the first ODI, it was an amazing feeling. You always work hard for that, before the match I spoke to you (Suryakumar Yadav). I feel blessed to be a part of the side. It was my childhood dream to get cap from either MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli. Getting the cap from Kohli was an amazing feeling. I worked on sidelining the distraction and work on my process," Hooda told teammate Suryakumar Yadav in a video posted on BCCI.TV.
"Good things take time but keep yourself ready. Obviously, it is a blessed feeling to share the dressing room with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid. You always learn so much from them. I am just trying to learn from them. My goal is to keep working on my process with the same intent and not worry too much about outcome," he added.
Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul might have played knocks of 64 and 49 but the hosts kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, and in the end, West Indies restricted India to 237/9 in the allotted fifty overs. For the West Indies, Alzarri Joseph and Odean Smith scalped two wickets each.
The final ODI will be played on Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.