On November 28th, Eden Gardens and Arjun Tendulkar enjoyed a historic debut at the 2025 SMAT tournament. The debut was made great in many ways due to the excellent performances of his fellow player, Vasuki Koushik in helping Goa obtain a huge win over the batter line-up of Chandigarh in group stage play.
Early Breakthroughs Set the Tone
Finding remarkable swing in Kolkata conditions, Arjun Tendulkar struck in his very first over by knocking over Chandigarh captain Shivam Bhambri with a sharp inswinger. The 26-year-old continued to trouble right-handers by consistently bringing the ball back into them.
Then he had Arjun Azad LBW in the fourth over to leave Chandigarh rattled at 10/4 in just 3.1 overs. An early double blow by him completely disrupted the opposition’s rhythm and set the stage for Goa’s dominance.
Tendulkar’s Late Burst Completes a Memorable Spell
Arjun Tendulkar’s performance during the 16th over of the innings was a solid indication of just how effective he is at attacking the blockhole. The yorker, which clean bowled Jagjit Singh within that over, not only demonstrated Arjun’s speed and skill but also demonstrated his level of control over the ball.
He ended up with the excellent analysis of 4-0-17-3 and was one of three Goa bowlers to take three wickets apiece, but Koushik outshone the others with 4-1-12-3.
Goa’s Batting Wobbles Despite Tendulkar’s Cameo
Even after encountering a lot of struggles during their early innings while trying to reach a target of 174 runs, Goa managed to equal their score of 173 runs at six wickets down, mainly because of the efforts of Lalit Yadav who scored 82 not out from 48 balls.
Arjun Tendulkar started off slowly but later scored a brisk 14 runs from 9 balls before being run out during the fourth over. Despite repeated top-order collapses, Goa found momentum through Yadav’s brilliance and ended with a competitive total.
Clinical Bowling Ensures a Comfortable Win
In response to 174 runs posted by Goa’s bowling attack, with the duo of Arjun Tendulkar and Vasuki Koushik combining to produce six wickets for only 82 runs, were able to easily dismiss the Chandigarh batsmen by 52 runs. The match ended appropriately as Tendulkar also took a catch from the final delivery bowled by Koushik creating an ideal ending to their destructive partnership.
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