IPL 2023: Pragyan Ojha Praises Arjun Tendulkar After Mumbai Indians’ Tense Last-Over Win Vs SRH
Mumbai: Former India and Mumbai Indians spinner Pragyan Ojha heaped high praise for Arjun Tendulkar stating the youngster showed tremendous confidence in defending 20 runs in the final over during Mumbai Indians’ win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing IPL 2023.
Mumbai Indians recorded a crucial 14-run win over SRH at the latter’s den. Batting first, Mumbai Indians put up a challenging 192/5 with Cameron Green scoring 64 off 40 deliveries (6×4, 2×6), coupled with a strong outing from Tilak Varma (37 runs; 17b, 2×4, 4×6) and Ishan Kishan (38 runs, 31b, 3×4, 2×6).
Opener Mayank Agarwal led SRH’s chase with 48 runs (41b, 4×4, 1×6), but regular fall of wickets set the hosts back eventually. Son of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Arjun, kept his composure in the final over and also got the wicket of Bhuvneshwar Kumar – his maiden IPL wicket – as SRH were bowled out for 178 in 19.5 overs.
Tendulkar’s wicket will be a cause for celebration in the famed Tendulkar household, with Ojha commenting on his bowling and discussing how happy Sachin must be feeling. “We have seen Sachin Tendulkar the player celebrate. Now it’s Sachin Tendulkar the father celebrating. This was a very important over to boost his self-confidence.
“Everyone says they saw him bowl yorkers, or as Zak bhai said, he swung the ball but executing the way he did in his second-ever match, it’s not easy. Even though he did bowl to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, I think he showed tremendous confidence,” Ojha said.
Green, meanwhile, was awarded the Player of the Match. Another former Mumbai Indians star Parthiv Patel complimented the Aussie for living up to high expectations. “Everyone knows what kind of player he is and today he put power behind his shots and played all over the field. If they bowled outside the off stump, he was reaching and hitting it. If it was coming straight, we got to see more shots.
“When the short ball came, we saw his pull shots. The way people talk about the level of player Cameron Green is, today’s performance let everyone know who he is. How much further he can rise from here and show consistency is going to be very important,” added the wicketkeeper.
Mumbai picked up their third consecutive win after a 0-2 start to the season. Patel spoke about the momentum MI is hoping to build. “If one team wins a game or two, they hope to stretch that momentum as much as possible. There will be a phase where they lose a game or two, so if you’re playing well, you’re going to keep trying to win as many games as possible,” he said.