'As a father...': Sachin Tendulkar's 1st reaction to son Arjun smashing 100 on Ranji debut

Arjun Tendulkar, the son of the legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar, announced himself on the big stage in style as he scored a century in his maiden Ranji Trophy match on Wednesday. With the century, Arjun matched the record of his father, who had also scored a century on his Ranji Trophy debut 34 years ago. Speaking about Arjun's achievement, the former India cricketer shared a story about his own father, recalling how delighted he was when he was first referred to as Sachin's father. He stated that every father wishes to be recognised for what his child has done.

Sachin's first reaction to Arjun Tendulkar's century in Ranji Trophy

"As a father, I remember hearing my father tell someone. This was just when I had started playing for India. Someone said to him, 'Sachin's father' and he heard that. And then my father's friend asked him how do you feel. He said it is the proudest moment of my life because this is what fathers want their children to be, to be recognised by what your child has done. Arjun has not led a normal childhood. Being a son of a cricketer who has been around for quite some time, it's not easy," Sachin said. 

"And that is the only reason when I retired and I was felicitated by the media in Mumbai, my message to them was to allow Arjun to fall in love with cricket. Give him that opportunity. You can follow up with various statements after he has performed. Don't try and put pressure on him because I never had that pressure from my parents. My parents gave me the freedom to go out and express myself. There was no pressure of expectations, it was all the way only encouragement and support and how could we go out and better ourselves? And that is what I wanted him to do," he added. 

Ranji Trophy: Arjun Tendulkar smashes century on debut

Arjun scored his maiden century while playing the ongoing Ranji Trophy game between Goa and Rajasthan. His knock of 207-ball 120 runs helped Goa post a mammoth total of 547 runs in the first innings of the match. Arjun's knock was made up of 16 boundaries and two sixes. Suyash Prabhudessai also contributed to Goa's total with a classy double century. Rajasthan are presently playing their first innings and have scored 245/6 in 71 overs. 

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