NEW DELHI: Goa pacer Arjun Tendulkar, son of Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket on Wednesday during a Ranji Trophy Plate Division match against Arunachal Pradesh at the Goa Cricket Association Academy Ground in Porvorim.
The 25-year-old left-arm seamer finished with impressive figures of 5 for 25 in 9 overs, which included three maiden overs. This achievement came in his 17th first-class match, as Arjun spearheaded the collapse of the Arunachal Pradesh batting lineup.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, Arunachal Pradesh found themselves in trouble early when Arjun bowled opener Nabam Hachang in the second over of the match. Despite brief resistance from Neelam Obi (22) and Chinmay Patil (3), who tried to stabilize the innings, Arjun struck twice in quick succession in the 12th over, further worsening the situation for the visitors.
By the time Arjun completed his five-wicket haul, Arunachal were reeling at 36/5 in 17.1 overs.
Arunachal skipper Nabam Abo top-scored with an unbeaten 25 from 25 balls, including five boundaries, before his team was bowled out for just 84 in 31st overs.
Goa’s bowling attack was further supported by Mohit Redkar (3/15) and Keith Mark Pinto (2/31), who helped wrap up the Arunachal innings.
Before this match, Arjun had taken 32 wickets in 16 first-class matches, with his previous best being 4/49. In addition to his bowling, Arjun has also proven to be a capable batsman, scoring 532 runs at an average of 23.13, with a century and two half-centuries to his name.
This performance marks an important milestone in Arjun’s career as he continues to make strides in domestic cricket.