Srinagar: Youngster Arjun Tendulkar has expressed his delight on getting maiden IPL wicket and said that he loves bowling and is ready to bowl anytime wherever captains wants.
In the match against, Sunrisers Hyderabad, playing his second IPL match, Arjun Tendulkar took his first ever IPL wicket. Arjun bowler two overs in powerplay and then was asked to bowl last over.
Arjun had 20 runs to defend against Abdul Samad and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and he gave away just 5 runs, picking up the wicket of the Kumar as Mumbai Indians successfully defended a 192-run target and sealed a 14-run win.
Arjun Tendulkar was delighted after getting the job done as Rohit Sharma ran to the young bowler and embraced him.
Speaking after his maiden IPL wicket, 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 Tendulkar said.
Explaining the thought process behind the execution of the final over, the left-arm pacer 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”.
Shedding light on the conversations that he has with his father Sachin, who is also the ‘icon mentor’ for Mumbai Indians, Arjun added: “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,” he added.
Rohit Sharma, his captain, who took the catch that got Tendulkar his wicket, said, “Arjun has been a part of this team for the last three years [though he didn’t make the XI]. I have seen him grow over the years. He understands what he wants to do and he is quite confident about what he wants to do for the team as well”.
“We saw in this lead up to the IPL what he was doing; he was bowling fast, nailing those yorkers, and quite clear in his plans as well. Keeping things easy – that’s what he is trying to do [for the team]. He is trying to swing the new ball and bowl yorkers at the death.”
