Ranji Trophy 2022-23: Arjun Tendulkar emulates father to score century on first class debut
Povorim (Goa), Dec 14: Emulating his legendary father Sachin Tendulkar, Arjun on Wednesday slammed a century on first-class debut on the second day of Goa's Group C Ranji Trophy match against Rajasthan here.
The feat came exactly 34 years after Sachin, then 15, began his journey to greatness with an unbeaten 100 against Gujarat at the Wankhede Stadium.
Late Lala Amarnath and one of his three sons Surinder had made hundreds on their Test debuts, making them the only father-son duo to achieve the feat in the 145-year history of traditional international format.
Batting at No. 7, Tendulkar junior, who had moved to Goa from Mumbai earlier this season in search of more playing opportunities, hit two sixes and 16 fours in his knock of 120 from 207 deliveries.
Along with No. 3 Suyash Prabhudessai (212; 416 balls, 29x4), Tendulkar junior put together 221 runs for the sixth wicket to take Goa to a mammoth 493/8 at close on day two.
Primarily, a left-arm fast medium, Arjun had come out to bat at the fag end of the opening day n Tuesday after the departure of wicketkeeper-batter Eknath Kerkar with Goa precariously placed at 201 for 5.
He started cautiously, seeing off 12 deliveries to be on four overnight in the company of RCB player Prabhudessai (81).
The 23-year-old started his innings afresh and saw off the Rajasthan attack boasting of seasoned duo of Aniket Choudhary and Kamlesh Nagarkoti to complete his maiden half-century off 86 balls.
He got to his maiden century off 177 deliveries to emulate his father, who holds the record of all-time highest run-scorer in international cricket.
The medium-pacer took eight wickets in eight List A games. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he took four wickets in three T20 matches for Goa.
Arjun had made the cut for the India Under-19 team and was bought by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians. But he has never played an IPL match for the most successful IPL side.
Brief Scores:
At Povorim: Goa 493/8; 163.2 overs (Suyash Prabhudesai 212, Arjun Tedulkar 120, Snehal Kauthankar 59; Arafat Khan 2/70, Aniket Choudhary 2/87, Manav Suthar 2/111, Kamlesh Nagarkoti 2/113) vs Rajasthan.
Match to continue.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
