Tendulkar junior passes test with flying colours

Arjun Tendulkar (centre) celebrates Mumbai Indians’s win over Sunrisers Hyderabad at Hyderabad on Tuesday. Pic/AFP

A lot of drama and emotions were witnessed by the Tendulkars during Mumbai Indians's (MI) 14-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal here on Tuesday night. Having bowled his first two overs quite admirably, left-arm seamer Arjun, was also given the ball in the 20th and final over by MI skipper Rohit Sharma. SRH were 173-8 at that stage and required another 20 runs. It was a tense moment not only for Arjun, but also for his famous father Sachin, who was in the MI dugout.

Proving himself in crunch situation

Arjun had the best chance to prove that he is the maker of his own destiny. Unperturbed, he kept his calm and bowled the last over like an experienced bowler. He bowled a dot ball to Abdul Samad, who was run out off the second ball. The third ball from Arjun was wide and he then conceded two runs to Mayank Markande. There was a leg bye before the perfect yorker that cleaned up Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

A relieved 23-year-old Arjun threw his arms up in delight and one could see the emotion on the face of his father. The floodgates of accolades opened. Tendulkar Sr, who had tweeted after Arjun made his IPL debut against Kolkata Knight Riders, put out another tweet. This time, praising man-of-the-match Cameron Green, young turks Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma: "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!"

Also Read: Team Mumbai Indians celebrate Arjun Tendulkar's maiden IPL wicket: Watch

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar patted Arjun for his last over and said that there were a lot of similarities between the legendary dad and called Tendulkar Jr a thinking cricketer. Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar, who had seen Sachin grow into a super star and now follows the career of Arjun, said, "Everybody talks about the amazing talent Sachin had at the start of his career. But it was his temperament that was absolutely amazing and Arjun seems to have inherited that. He seems to be a shrewd thinker as well. It's always a good sign when a youngster is bowling the final over for the team and delivering."

Arjun wanted to bowl the last over. His plan was to bowl just wide and get the batsmen hitting into the longer side. "I was itching to bowl, yes. I love bowling and I'm happy to bowl anytime," he said, adding that he and his father talk a lot about cricket: "We talk tactics and plans."

Thumbs up from skipper Rohit

Arjun got a thumbs up from skipper Rohit. The MI captain said: "It's quite exciting to play with Arjun. Life has come a full circle. Arjun has been part of the squad for the last three years. I have seen him grow. He understands what he wants to do and is quite confident he can do it. He is trying to swing the new ball and bowl yorkers at the death."

Meanwhile, commentator Harsha

Bhogle tweeted, "I have seen @sachin_rt for so many years now but the look on his face after Arjun bowled the last over was so different and so beautiful,". Doubtless, it was a memorable night for the Tendulkars.

Tweet talk

Sachin Tendulkar@sachin_rt: 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!