'I always had belief in my ability': Arjun Tendulkar reacts to maiden Ranji Trophy century on debut

On his debut in the Ranji Trophy, the young Arjun Tendulkar made headlines on Wednesday by scoring a century for Goa against a formidable Rajasthan team.

Arjun's achievement of matching his father's feat of making a debut 100 in the Ranji Trophy enthralled the entire cricketing nation. In the 1988–89 season, while playing for Mumbai, Sachin accomplished the feat.

Since his remarkable performance in the Ranji Trophy, Arjun has finally spoken up for the first time.

"I've always believed in my capacity, and I've known that if I'm focused, I can make significant runs.I simply had to play the first hour out and then capitalise," Arjun told reporters.

“As of the approach today, it was more about the basics. Just give first hour to the bowlers. After we grit the initial phase out, it’s time to capitalise. And time to get runs. As I said, it was the new ball and the new ball would do something. I honestly don’t care how I look, I gritted the first difficult phase out and then I cashed in,” said Arjun.

At the conclusion of Day 2 play, Goa had amassed a staggering score of 493/8. With 14 fours and 2 massive sixes in his innings, Arjun Tendulkar scored 120  runs off just 207 balls. Suyash Prabhudessai, however, was Goa's leading scorer during the contest. In an inning that featured 29 fours, he scored 212 runs on 416 balls. 

Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar reacted to his son's century, by recalling a memory related to his own father, while also opening up on his chat with Arjun, a day before he smashed his maiden Ranji ton. 

"Speaking to host Gaurav Kapoor at an event organised by Infosys, Sachin said, "I remember hearing my father tell someone, this was just when I had started playing for India, someone referred to him as 'Sachin's father'." 

"He heard that, and then my father's friend asked him ‘how do you feel?’ He said, 'it's the proudest moment of my life'. Fathers want their children to be recognized by what their child has done," he added.

READ| 'You need to go and get a hundred': Sachin Tendulkar reveals chat with Arjun day before he smashed Ranji ton