Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar was a proud father on Tuesday as his son Arjun picked his maiden wicket in IPL and played a crucial role in Mumbai Indians' 14-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Arjun, who marked his IPL debut on Sunday in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium. It also made him and Sachin become the first father-son pair to have featured in the tournament.
However, the 23-year-old went wicketless on his debut as he ended the game with figures of 0/17 in his two overs. Even in the game against SRH, he was without a wicket in the first two overs of his spell.
But when the MI skipper Rohit Sharma showed faith in the youngster to defend 20 runs off the final, Arjun held his nerves and bowled a tight over giving only 5 runs in as many deliveries and also picked up his first IPL wicket, dismissing Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is the only bowler to have dismissed Sachin for a duck in first-class cricket, and help his secure a third win on the row.
Arjun's father, Sachin, who also played in the IPL for six years, came up with an appreciation tweet after MI's hat-trick of wins and said: "A superb all-round performance by Mumbai Indians once again.
Cameron Green impressed with both bat & ball. Ishan & Tilak's batting is as good as it gets! The IPL is getting more interesting every day. Great going boys! And finally a Tendulkar has an IPL wicket!"
After the match, the MI skipper was also full of praise for Arjun and said the youngster is quite confident and clear of his plans."Arjun has been a part of this team for three years. He understands what he wants to do.
He is quite confident as well. He is clear in his plans. He is trying to swing the new ball and bowl Yorkers at the death."After three wins in the first 5 games, MI is placed sixth in the points table. The 5-time champions next face Punjab Kings on April 22 at the Wankhede Stadium.