Nearly two years after his First-Class debut, Arjun Tendulkar bagged his maiden five-wicket haul. At Goa Cricket Association Academy, Porvorim on November 13, left-arm pacer Arjun wrecked Arunachal Pradesh's batting lineup with the new ball to help his side bowl out the visitors for a paltry 84.
Intersingly, Arjun achieved what Sachin Tendulkar couldn't in his First-Class career. Sachin during his 24 years of his career in red-ball cricket could not bag a five-wicket haul despite being a handy leg-spinner and a medium pacer as well.
On Day 1 of the clash, Arjun dismissed opener Nabam Hachang with the last ball of his first over. Hachang got bowled for a six-ball duck. In the 12th over, he ended opener Obi's stay at the crease. He got bowled for a 30-ball 22. On the next delivery, he strapped Jay Bhavsar in front of the wickets.
Chinmay Jayanta Patil tried to survive the new ball but got caught for a single-digit score in the 14th over. A few overs later, the 25-year-old completed his maiden fifer with the wicket of Moji who scored just a single from 21 balls. Moji got bowled as well by the Mumbai-born pacer.
Later in the session, Mohit Redkar and Keith Pinto took three and two wickets respectively as Arunchal Pradesh were bowled out for 84 in 30.3 overs. Arjun bowled a total of nine overs including three maidens. He conceded 25 runs to bag his maiden fifer. For Arunachal Pradesh, captain Nabam Abo remained unbeaten for a run-a-ball 25 including five fours.
His previous best bowling figures in red-ball cricket are four wickets for 49 runs. He had two four-fers in First-Class cricket and one each in List A (One-Day) and T20 cricket.
Arjun's run in ongoing Ranji Trophy so far
In the first three games of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season, he bagged 11 wickets including a four-wicket haul against Sikkim. In the previous game against Mizoram, he claimed two wickets.
Fifer ahead of IPL mega auction
Arjun's maiden fifer came 10 days ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. Arjun who was roped in for Rs 30 lakh by Mumbai Indians (MI) is likely to get picked by them again. This time around the minimum base price is Rs 30 lakh.
