Asia Cup 2022: Deepak Hooda's sublime uppercut against Pakistan leaves Virat Kohli in awe

India's narrow defeat to Pakistan in a blockbuster clash on Sunday landed a huge dent in their aspirations of lifting the Asia Cup for a third successive time. But the bright spot on a bleak day would be the resurgence of Virat Kohli, who notched up his second successive half-century of the tournament in the epic clash against the arch-rivals. The former Indian skipper was seen applauding a shot after Deepak Hooda produced a sublime uppercut during the Indian innings.

The much-maligned Indian top order fired on all cylinders against a young Pakistani pace attack as Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul launched a scathing attack in the powerplay. The opening duo added a quickfire 54-run stand inside the powerplay to give India a breathtaking start against the arch-rivals after faltering in the previous two encounters.

Kohli, who was at his effervescent best, was seen tapping his bat in the applause of Deepak Hooda's magnificent uppercut against a lethal bouncer from Paksitani pacer Mohammad Hasnain in the 18th over. The shot is a trademark of Hooda, who plays the upper cut remarkably late with the ball almost through him, giving the fielders behind the wicket no chance at all to protect the boundary.

No Hooda No. You'll have to explain this shot. pic.twitter.com/Q5SJOWV2ME

— Rayyan Ghani 🇵🇰 (@RayyanGhani) September 4, 2022

Virat Kohli's innings propelled India to a competitive score on the board

Although India failed to fully utilize that terrific start and finished with 181 runs on the board, Virat Kohli, for the second consecutive match of the continental tournament, rolled back the years with an eye-catching half-century. The former Indian skipper, who had endured an uncharacteristically lean run of form with the bat, looked at his fluent best in the knock against Pakistan and even applauded the shots of his batting partners.

Unfortunately for the Indian team, Kohli was the lone warrior and was eventually dismissed in the last over as Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and Deepak Hooda failed to capitalize on their starts and register a big score as India seemingly finished a few runs short in their innings, which eventually proved to be the case.