Arjun Tendulkar is just four matches old in Indian Premier League (IPL) but he has been under the scanner since he bowled the first ball against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Wankhede Stadium on April 16. While the left-arm pacer bowled a brilliant last over against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to guide his side to a win, he was smashed for 31 runs in an over by Punjab Kings (PBKS) batters.
On April 25 against Gujarat Titans (GT), Tendulkar bowled well with the new ball conceding just nine runs and picking up the wicket of opener Wriddhiman Saha. However, he was not given a third over.
“You can't guarantee that the third over will be met. Even the very best bowlers, the most experienced bowlers… when you get greedy and think, 'let's just try and get that extra over', more often than not, they get lined up,” Moody was quoted as saying ESPNCricinfo.
Rohit Sharma put his faith in Riley Meredith and Cameron Green despite being the latter going for plenty in his initial spell.
“Tendulkar did his job. Again, he's a recipient of the sub. He's the extra bowler. And the extra bowler doesn't have to complete four (overs). He has contributed well at the top, took a wicket and gave 9 overs. You can't argue when the cows come home, ‘oh he should've bowled the death over instead of Green!'. Green's the international bowler, and he has bowled poorly,” Moody added.
Abhinav Manohar and David Miller went haywire in the slog overs. Rahul Tewatia’s cameo took GT past the 200-run mark. In reply, MI failed to put up a fight and lost the match by a big margin of 55 runs.
MI’s bowling coach Shane Bond lauded Arjun for his comeback after an expensive over against PBKS.
"He did well today, obviously after what happened in the last game. It's never easy to step out onto the ground that is a Colosseum with a big crowd. We will work on increasing his pace, but he did all that was asked of him today," Bond had said at the post-match press conference.
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