Mumbai Indians (MI) medium-pacer Arjun Tendulkar ended his wait for his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) wicket on Tuesday (April 18) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Featuring in his second IPL game, Arjun was tasked to defend 20 runs off the final over and he gave away only 5 runs to secure a 14-run victory for MI. The left-armer bowled a tidy last over, choosing to go full and wide. In the process, he also picked his first IPL wicket by dismissing Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Arjun also bowled a couple of overs in the powerplay and conceded just 12 runs from it as he got the new ball to move. Overall, he returned with the impressive figures of 1 for 18 in his 2.5 overs.
A day after MI’s win over SRH, the franchise shared a heartwarming video from the dressing room, in which Arjun was being praised for his brilliant performance. However, the most cherished moment came when he received the Player of the Match award from his legendary father Sachin Tendulkar, who is also the icon and mentor of Mumbai Indians.
"At least there's a wicket in our family now." ?? - Sachin Tendulkar. It's an awww-filled content day - Arjun receives his POTM ??? from his father," MI captioned the video.
Interacting with Ravi Shastri after the match, Arjun Tendulkar said he was well prepared to bowl the final over and that he is ready to do whatever the team needs from him with the ball.
"I love bowling, I am happy to bowl anytime the captain asks me to and just stick to the team plan and give my best," Arjun stated.
Talking about his strategy for the final over, the 23-year-old added: "Obviously it was great getting my first IPL wicket. I just had to focus on what was in hand, the plan and executing it. Our plan was just to bowl wide and get the long boundary into play, make the batsman hit it to the longer side."
Arjun also opened up on the conversations that he has with his father. "He (Sachin Tendulkar and him) talk about cricket, we discuss tactics before the game and he tells me to back what I practise every game. I just focused on my release, bowling good lengths and lines upfront. If it swings, it's a bonus, if it doesn't, so be it."
