IPL 2023: South African great reacts to Arjun Tendulkar's dismal outing against PBK
A south African great has laid weight on the performance of Arjun Tendulkar against Punjab Kings in match 31 of IPL 2023. Arjun conceded 31 runs in one over.
IPL 2023: Following a forgettable bowling spell against Punjab Kings in match number 31 of IPL 2023, Arjun Tendulkar is being subjected to heavy criticism from cricket fans. While he has been making rounds since he made his debut Saturday's performance propelled a flurry of reactions. Tendulkar was hit for 31 runs in an over against PBKS, and in the after-math, Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher laid weight on Rohit Sharma's decision to give Arjun the ball in the 16th over.
"I think Rohit, who is a very experienced cricketer, felt that he would bowl Arjun at the 14th-15th over. That was a better match-up at that stage in the game. Sometimes, they (decisions) go your way and sometimes they do not. Unfortunately, it did not go his way, and, in hindsight, sometimes the match-ups do not work and that is just the nature of T20 cricket. It will be tough on him (Arjun), coming in to bowl at the back end at Wankhede where the conditions were good to bat on. He, maybe, got one or two (deliveries) wrong, he probably felt under the pressure but he will live and learn from it. It is not the end of the world; it is still not the early days but mid days in the IPL and, hopefully, he will come back stronger. He has full support of the support staff and players to try and get over this as quickly as possible." Boucher said in the post-match media address.
MI vs PBKS: Punjab Kings won the match by 13 runs
The match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings took place at the Wankhede Stadium. For the third straight game Arjun Tendulkar was picked in the playing XI of Mumbai. Having made an impactful debut, this time the youngster was taken for runs. After getting a breezy start PBKS had its sight set on a score past 200 and the team was able to register a target of 215, courtesy of some explosive batting from Sam Curran, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, and Jitesh Sharma. PBKS made 96 runs in the last 5 overs, which included the 16th over bowled by Tendulkar, which was hit for 31 runs.
In reply, MI was equal to the task as Cameron Green, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav showcased clean striking to get the Required Run Rate in check. At one stage, when Green and SKY were batting the score was 159 for 2 after 15.2 overs. At that mark, MI looked certain to get home. However an incredible spell by Arshdeep Singh turned out to be the differentiator as PBKS hoisted its flag in Mumbai on the back of a 13-run victory.
Published By : Prateek Arya
Published On: 23 April 2023 at 15:34 IST