Before Wednesday, Arjun Tendulkar had not scored a hundred in any BCCI tournament. May it be age-group or senior cricket. The best he had managed with the bat was a 91 against Uttar Pradesh in a U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy fixture for Mumbai in the 2018-19 season. The 23-year-old finally got his moment under the sun when he scored his maiden First Class hundred against Rajasthan in the ongoing Ranji Trophy fixture in Porvorim.
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In no time, he was all over social media timelines and “like father, like son” was the theme of most of congratulatory posts. Just like the great Sachin Tendulkar, Arjun found his name in elite company when he completed the hundred on FC debut for Goa. The southpaw, moments after the day’s play got over, posted a video of his hundred celebration on Instagram with the caption “BUMPY ROADS HAVE THE BEST DESTINATIONS. MAIDEN 1st CLASS 100. #HARDWORKPAYS”. Sister Sara was not too far behind in jumping on the bandwagon and had series of posts appreciating her brother’s efforts in the middle.
It wasn’t a smooth sail for Arjun as he walked out to bat in a difficult situation. The first job at hand was to see off the remaining overs of the day’s play and “protect” a well-set Suyash Prabhudesai who was battling well past fifty at that stage. The left-hander performed the night-watchman’s role to perfection and ensured there was no more casualty when stumps were called on the opening day.
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“When I first walked out to bat I had to face most of the balls because Suyash was batting on 80 so it was my job to protect him and play most of the balls,” Arjun told reporters after play ended on Day 2.
The opening session of the second day was all about “giving the first hour to the bowlers”.
“As of the approach today, it was more about the basics. Just give first hour to the bowlers. After we grit the initial phase out, it’s time to capitalise. And time to get runs. As I said, it was the new ball and the new ball would do something. I honestly don’t care how I look, I gritted the first difficult phase out and then I cashed in,” said Arjun.
Was he aware about his father also scoring a hundred on First Class debut? “No I wasn’t aware,” came the quick reply.
For years now, Arjun the bowler has hogged most of the limelight and his skills with the bat have rather gone unnoticed. But for the left-hander, he always had belief in his batting abilities and informs that the hundreds were scored in plenty of trial matches for the Mumbai Cricket Association during age-group days.
“I always had belief in my ability and wanted to just get set, and once I am set it’s about cashing in and getting the big runs. As I said, just play the first hour out and capitalise,” said Arjun.
Arjun is off to a fine start in the First Class circuit but the youngster is not keen to look too far ahead and wants to focus on staying in the present and winning the ongoing match against Rajasthan.
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“Just play each game and each ball on the merit. For now, just try winning this game,” said Arjun.
With Prabhudesai, who scored 212, Arjun put on a brilliant partnership and the left-right combination clearly frustrated a very potent Rajasthan attack on the second day. The duo put on 221 runs and more importantly were out in the middle for over 60 overs. The solid stand ended when Kamlesh Nagarkoti dismissed Arjun for 120. At the end of day’s play, Arjun spoke about the partnership and lavished praise on Prabhudesai.
“It was great help (batting with Prabhudesai). He was batting well and showing good character. Had tightened his defence and was leaving the ball well. I kept talking to him and it was great help in the middle,” said Arjun.
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