Shane Bond opens up on youngster Arjun Tendulkar's first few games for MI in IPL 2023

While Mumbai Indians’ loss against Gujarat Titans was rather obvious, the choice to not use Arjun Tendulkar in the final few overs of GT's innings puzzled some fans and veteran cricketers. The MI rookie had a difficult game last week when the team played Punjab Kings. He gave up 31 runs during the 16th over of the innings. Tuesday night in Ahmedabad, Arjun only bowled two overs, both in the Powerplay, but he managed to get the crucial wicket of Wriddhiman Saha immediately.

What did Shane Bond say about the young fast bowler Arjun Tendulkar?

Arjun was not provided with another over throughout the evening, but Shane Bond, MI's bowling coach, thinks Arjun "did what was asked of him." Additionally, the ex-New Zealand star shared a message on Tendulkar Junior.

Shane Bond spoke about the left-arm fast bowler and how he performed against the Gujarat Titans. He said, “He did well today . After what happened in the last game, it's never easy to step out onto the ground that is a Colosseum with a big crowd. Obviously, we would like him to work on increasing his pace a little bit, but he did all that was asked of him today."

Later in the game, Arjun also batted for the very first time throughout his Indian Premier League career. He came to the plate as the no. 9 and hammered a carefree six early in his brief stint at the crease. In the penultimate over, the young batter was eventually bowled for 13 runs off 9 deliveries.

Tuesday night's 55-run loss to the reigning champion Gujarat Titans marked Mumbai Indians' fourth defeat of the year. The bowlers for the team produced another dismal performance, giving up 77 runs inside the final four overs of the game, which led to the Titans' massive score of 207/6 in 20 overs. The MI was only able to score 152/9, with almost all of the wickets falling to GT bowlers.