In a terrific start to his first-class career, Arjun Tendulkar has now scored a century on his Ranji Trophy debut, 34 year after his father, the legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar achieved the same. Arjun's ton came on Day 2 of the Goa's Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan on Wednesday (December 14).
While Arjun had ended day 1 batting on 4 off 15 balls, the left-handed batter made it count in his maiden innings in the first-class cricket circuit and ended up breaching the three-figure mark with ease. Suyash Prabhudessai also scored a century for Goa and the two of them are in the middle of a marathon partnership at Tea on Day 2.
Arjun left Mumbai to play for Goa
For the unversed, Arjun had left Mumbai to play for Goa in August 2022 owing to a lack of game time. The left arm pace-bowling all-rounder had only got 2 matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that was played last January. His talent managenent agency had confirmed that the decision was taken keeping in mind that that more competitive matches will help Arjun improve his game which was the reason he applied for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).
Even though Arjun was includied the Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad last season, he could not make it to the final Playing XI even for one single game. Even in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Arjun was part of the Mumbai Indians squad for two successive seasons but is yet to play his first game in the competition.
Performances like the one he has shown in this match will add a lot of weight to his candidature for a place in the final XI of the IPL as a pace bowling all-rounder is a rarity in India. The fact that Arjun bowls with the left-arm further opens doors for him with Mumbai Indians looking to strike the perfect balance in their side.