"Always had belief in my ability" - Arjun Tendulkar after a memorable Ranji Trophy debut with the bat

Following a remarkable hundred on Ranji Trophy debut, Arjun Tendulkar stated that he always believed in his ability with the bat. The southpaw also underlined his strategy while batting with Suyash Prabhudessai.

The 23-year-old emulated his father Sachin to become one of the few players to score a hundred on his Ranji debut, doing so for Goa against Rajasthan on Day 2 of the game. He made 120 off 207 balls, an innings laced with 16 fours and two sixes, before losing his wicket.

Speaking to the Times of India after a pristine ton, the Mumbai-born cricketer conceded:

"I always had belief in my ability, and I knew that if I'm set, I could get the big runs. I just had to play the first hour out and then capitalise. When I first walked out, I had to face most of the balls because Suyash was playing on 80 and my job was to protect him."

"Today, it was just the basics - give the first hour to the bowler. The new ball in the morning gives a little bit advantage to the bowlers. After we saw out the initial phase, it was time to capitalise and get runs."

Tendulkar mustered centuries in the Under-14 and Under-16 selection games, apart from scoring 91 against Uttar Pradesh in U-19 cricket. However, this was his first hundred in BCCI-organized games.

Sumiran Amonkar is the only other batter to have scored a hundred for Goa on his first-class debut. The left-handed batter's breakthrough hundred comes 34 years after his father achieved it. Sachin retired from international cricket as the highest run-scorer in Test and ODI cricket.

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Arjun Tendulkar and Suyash Prabhudessai propel Goa to a steep total

By the end of Day 2, Goa finished at 493-8 on the back of a monumental 221-run stand between Tendulkar and Prabhudessai, who top-scored with 212.

They have declared at 547-9 after cameos from Darshan Misal, Mohit Redkar and Lakshay Garg.