In a match of the 5th round of Ranji Trophy, Goa defeated Arunachal Pradesh by an innings and 551 runs in Porvorim. While discussing Goa's batting record in this match, a good performance was ignored. In Arunachal's all out for just 84 in the first innings, Arjun Tendulkar bowled 5/25 and recorded his first 5-wicket haul in Ranji Trophy. He did not get any wicket in the second innings. 5 wickets is a special thing in Arjun's bowling record in first class cricket (37 wickets at an average of 33.51 in 17 matches) and this is now his best performance in first class cricket.
This performance of Arjun was also seen from another perspective. He is now one of those players who achieved both the milestones of 100 runs and 5 wickets in first class cricket. The interesting discussion was that even 'Daddy' Sachin Tendulkar does not have such a record in first class cricket. Well, how can Arjun be compared to Sachin (Sachin's first class cricket record: 71 wickets in 310 matches, 25000+ runs including 81 centuries) but he never took more than 3 wickets in any first class match. His best bowling performance was 3/10. So can we say that Arjun competes with Sachin in bowling records? Let us answer this question.
Arjun's 5/25 against Arunachal Pradesh and from the discussion above it is clear that in the Tendulkar family, the best bowling record in an innings in first class cricket is now in Arjun's name. It is a very common record for two generations of the same cricket family to take 5 wickets in first class cricket. Even all three of the Tremlett family, Maurice, Tim and Chris took 5 wickets. Basil and Brett from the D'Oliveira family took 5 wickets each but Damien of the generation between them missed out (best: 4/68). Similarly, George and Dean Hadlee took 5 wickets each but Ron remained at 4 wickets.
Here the thinking has to be changed that Sachin never made the record of 5 wickets. Oho! Sachin bowled 5/32 in the One Day International against a team like Australia (in 1998). Then in his wicket, there were names like Steve Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Michael Bevan, Tom Moody and Damien Martyn. This was the bowling that Australians still talk about.
In 1998, Australia lost the 3-Test series in India by 2-1. After that a triangular ODI was played in which the third team was Zimbabwe. The first match of the tournament was India-Australia on 1 April at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. This stadium was famous for football, not cricket and this was the first ODI played there. Captain Azharuddin won the toss and chose to bat first.
Both the openers Navjot Sidhu (1) and Sachin Tendulkar (8) were in the pavilion for only 19 runs but, Ajay Jadeja 105*, Mohammad Azharuddin 82 and Hrishikesh Kanitkar 57* took the score to 309 runs. In those days, 300+ was considered quite big. In reply, Australia was given a blazing start by Adam Gilchrist (61 off 45 balls) and scored 100 runs in 12 overs. Gilchrist had reduced the required run rate significantly and after this the match was under Australia's control. Australia's score was 202-3 in 31 overs. At one time, 107 runs were required in 17.3 overs and this was not very difficult to score.
Tendulkar was the last of the six bowlers tested that day. Steve Waugh (26) was his first wicket in the 34th over. After one over, Darren Lehmann (8) was also out and the match got stuck from here. When Bevan (65 in 82 balls) was also dismissed in the 40th over, India appeared to be in control of the match. When Tom Moody (23) in the 42nd over and Damien Martyn (2) in the 44th over were also out, Tendulkar recorded his first 5-wicket haul in ODIs. He was the 'Man of the Match' with impressive figures of 5/32 as India bowled out Australia for 268 and won by 41 runs.
In that tour, in the Test series, Australian captain Mark Taylor had said after the defeat in the Chennai Test – 'We did not lose to a team named India, we lost to a person named Sachin Tendulkar.' Tendulkar had scored 155* in that test. This is what his ODI team captain Steve Waugh must be saying after Tendulkar's magic with the ball on April Fool's Day.
It is also important to mention that Tendulkar was close to scoring a hat-trick that day. When Moody's wicket fell on the first ball in the 42nd over, he was on a hat-trick and the new batsman was Shane Warne. The ball bounced from the good-length spot and Warne made a mistake in cutting it – the ball went straight into Mongia's gloves but bounced into the air. Jadeja ran from point to catch it but stayed away and Tendulkar missed the hat-trick. Still, 10-1-32-5 was amazing bowling for a player who was not a strike-bowler.
Also note that Tendulkar took 5 wickets once more in ODIs (that too at Kochi, against Pakistan on 2 April 2005) but that is a different story. Therefore, there is a need to think twice while comparing Sachin Tendulkar with Arjun as a bowler.
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