Arjun Tendulkar registered his first wicket of the IPL 2026 season during Lucknow Super Giants' final match of the season at the Ekana Stadium on Saturday. Playing against Punjab Kings, Tendulkar dismissed the dangerous Prabhsimran Singh to break a 140-run partnership.
Playing his first game of the season and making his debut for LSG after being traded from Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2026, the left-arm pacer produced an eventful spell that ended with figures of 1/36 in four overs.
He also remained unbeaten on 5 off 5 balls as Lucknow posted 196/6.
Tendulkar's breakthrough came in the 16th over of Punjab Kings' chase after Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer had taken complete control of the contest. Prabhsimran attempted to shuffle across for a flick but missed a full delivery that tailed into him, with the umpire immediately raising his finger for lbw.
The PBKS opener departed for a blistering 69 off 39 balls, an innings featuring seven fours and two sixes.
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Watch the dismissal here:
The wicket carried additional significance for Tendulkar, marking his first IPL scalp since April 25, 2023, when he dismissed Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan while returning career-best figures of 1/9 in his debut season for Mumbai Indians.
He played only one match in IPL 2024 and went wicketless before earning an opportunity in Lucknow colours this season.
Against Punjab, Tendulkar was introduced into the attack immediately after the powerplay and conceded just four runs in his opening over. The left-arm pacer also forced a top-edge from Prabhsimran, only for Rishabh Pant to spill the chance behind the stumps.
Punjab, however, attacked him aggressively in the middle overs as Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer shifted momentum decisively. Despite the expensive phase, Tendulkar struck with the final delivery of the third over of his spell before returning to concede just five runs in his final over.
Punjab meanwhile, chased down LSG's 196/6 with seven wickets and two overs to spare to break their run of six defeat and keep their playoff hopes alive. Shreyas Iyer scored his maiden IPL century, finishing unbeaten on 101* off 51 balls.
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