Povorim, 14 Dec: 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, 29×4), 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. (PTI)