Sachin Vs Rahul ???
Congratulations to Sachin....the little master.......truly the most gifted batsmen of contemporary cricket...maybe even the most gifted of all batsmen ever to have played this game... the ideal superstar...as great his fame...so has been his conduct....he commands adulation that is unsurpassed but for a handful..... expectations so great..... the burden would have crushed a lesser mortal...yet he has overcome it all...stayed grounded right through...perhaps thats the reason why he commands the respect of all his peers...and held in awe by rest of the world.
Cricket would not find a better ambassador than him.
This occasion when he finds himself on top of the run heap in Test Match cricket..News channels are in a tizzy opening the debate as to whether he infact is the greatest test batsmen in the world ? Drowned in this cacophony are the voices of the few amongst us who might beg to ask a different question....
Here is why questions arise..
Accolades apart...if Greatness was a measure of the players contribution to winning causes of the team...then would he still be the Greatest Indian Test Batsman of his era?
If we were to agree that to be the criteria...then the most valuable Test Batsman for India has been....ever since he made his Debut in 1996.....a commerce graduate from St Josephs Bangalore ...the man nicknamed as "The Wall"...Rahul Dravid.
I do confess that Statistics can be manipulated to derive different meaning to different persons...with that rider in ....i present my take on the numbers below...of Sachin and Rahul as contemporaries (i.e from 1996..the year Dravid made his debut)...and in the matches that India has won since.
Opposition considered for this analysis are all Test Nations barring Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
First the summary of both the players in the matches that India has won..
Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave Career Average
Sachin 28 49 6 2090 194* 48.60 54.17
Dravid 30 53 8 3016 270 67.02 53.58
2 points from the above statistic.
Firstly Sachin's average in Indian victories is greater than his career average only if you consider both oppositions ignored earlier.... it would then read 59.58 (Sachin avergaes 212 against Bangladesh skewing his average runs per innings by almost 10 runs!!!)... Yet Rahul would still be comfortably ahead with an average of 71.54!!!
Second.... Dravid outscores Sachin in matches that India has won since they started playing together by a good 1000 Runs !!!!
Below... Performance split by opposition in India Victories-
Rahul Dravid
Opponent Span Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave
v Australia 1996-2008 8 14 2 983 233 81.91
v England 2001-2007 4 6 2 419 148 104.75
v New Zealand 1999-1999 1 2 0 49 48 24.50
v Pakistan 1999-2007 5 8 0 655 270 81.87
v South Africa 1996-2008 5 10 2 328 80 41.00
v Sri Lanka 2001-2008 3 6 0 213 75 35.50
v West Indies 2002-2006 4 7 2 369 100* 73.80
Sachin Tendulkar
Opponent Span Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave
v Australia 1996-2008 8 15 1 593 155* 42.35
v England 2001-2007 4 5 0 377 193 75.40
v New Zealand 1999-1999 1 2 1 59 44* 59.00
v Pakistan 1999-2007 5 8 2 391 194* 65.16
v South Africa 1996-2006 4 8 1 256 61 36.57
v Sri Lanka 2005-2008 3 6 0 203 109 33.83
v West Indies 2002-2002 3 5 1 211 117 52.75
Dravid's record above against Australia and Pakistan alone should raise eyebrows...But again the argument goes that Sachin is what he is because of the manner in which he has inspired a generation of Indians....he was one of a kind...a prodigy who became a master....statistics be damned....his value is much more than his statistics....Much in the manner we would measure Saurav's contribution to Indian Cricket...not in terms of the runs he scored... but to borrow Steven Waugh's comment...the manner in which he moulded a side which ... would not roll over and expose the underbelly as the teams India fielded before Sourav's era.
All said and done .... the fact remains that these two icons...so admirable in their conduct...yet with such contrasting styles on field...one is pure cricket joy...other a true professional...between them they have scored more runs than any other pair in Test cricket, excluding opening pairs.
On that happy note....lets then quit asking questions for which there are no definite answers...Lara or Tendulkar...Gavaskar vs Tendulkar...or Dravid vs Tendulkar...Bradman Vs Tendulkar....all such comparisions will never justify one to the summary exclusion of another....lets then just stick to celebrating Tendulkar for his monumental achievement....
Chalo Cheers and Take Care!!!
Cricket would not find a better ambassador than him.
This occasion when he finds himself on top of the run heap in Test Match cricket..News channels are in a tizzy opening the debate as to whether he infact is the greatest test batsmen in the world ? Drowned in this cacophony are the voices of the few amongst us who might beg to ask a different question....
Here is why questions arise..
Accolades apart...if Greatness was a measure of the players contribution to winning causes of the team...then would he still be the Greatest Indian Test Batsman of his era?
If we were to agree that to be the criteria...then the most valuable Test Batsman for India has been....ever since he made his Debut in 1996.....a commerce graduate from St Josephs Bangalore ...the man nicknamed as "The Wall"...Rahul Dravid.
I do confess that Statistics can be manipulated to derive different meaning to different persons...with that rider in ....i present my take on the numbers below...of Sachin and Rahul as contemporaries (i.e from 1996..the year Dravid made his debut)...and in the matches that India has won since.
Opposition considered for this analysis are all Test Nations barring Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
First the summary of both the players in the matches that India has won..
Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave Career Average
Sachin 28 49 6 2090 194* 48.60 54.17
Dravid 30 53 8 3016 270 67.02 53.58
2 points from the above statistic.
Firstly Sachin's average in Indian victories is greater than his career average only if you consider both oppositions ignored earlier.... it would then read 59.58 (Sachin avergaes 212 against Bangladesh skewing his average runs per innings by almost 10 runs!!!)... Yet Rahul would still be comfortably ahead with an average of 71.54!!!
Second.... Dravid outscores Sachin in matches that India has won since they started playing together by a good 1000 Runs !!!!
Below... Performance split by opposition in India Victories-
Rahul Dravid
Opponent Span Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave
v Australia 1996-2008 8 14 2 983 233 81.91
v England 2001-2007 4 6 2 419 148 104.75
v New Zealand 1999-1999 1 2 0 49 48 24.50
v Pakistan 1999-2007 5 8 0 655 270 81.87
v South Africa 1996-2008 5 10 2 328 80 41.00
v Sri Lanka 2001-2008 3 6 0 213 75 35.50
v West Indies 2002-2006 4 7 2 369 100* 73.80
Sachin Tendulkar
Opponent Span Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave
v Australia 1996-2008 8 15 1 593 155* 42.35
v England 2001-2007 4 5 0 377 193 75.40
v New Zealand 1999-1999 1 2 1 59 44* 59.00
v Pakistan 1999-2007 5 8 2 391 194* 65.16
v South Africa 1996-2006 4 8 1 256 61 36.57
v Sri Lanka 2005-2008 3 6 0 203 109 33.83
v West Indies 2002-2002 3 5 1 211 117 52.75
Dravid's record above against Australia and Pakistan alone should raise eyebrows...But again the argument goes that Sachin is what he is because of the manner in which he has inspired a generation of Indians....he was one of a kind...a prodigy who became a master....statistics be damned....his value is much more than his statistics....Much in the manner we would measure Saurav's contribution to Indian Cricket...not in terms of the runs he scored... but to borrow Steven Waugh's comment...the manner in which he moulded a side which ... would not roll over and expose the underbelly as the teams India fielded before Sourav's era.
All said and done .... the fact remains that these two icons...so admirable in their conduct...yet with such contrasting styles on field...one is pure cricket joy...other a true professional...between them they have scored more runs than any other pair in Test cricket, excluding opening pairs.
On that happy note....lets then quit asking questions for which there are no definite answers...Lara or Tendulkar...Gavaskar vs Tendulkar...or Dravid vs Tendulkar...Bradman Vs Tendulkar....all such comparisions will never justify one to the summary exclusion of another....lets then just stick to celebrating Tendulkar for his monumental achievement....
Chalo Cheers and Take Care!!!
2 comments:
Hmm.. you cant really compare each other completely like that... both are great in their own ways na?
Both of them have made India proud - so very proud :)
That is an interesting comparision..
but as you noted, Sachin has inspired a generation....
and you have to look at ODI's also....tag on the same analysis to ODI's and I think Sachin will race ahead.
And before Dravid came into picture, India was avoiding follow-on's only because of Sachin.
I only wonder, if Dravid was selected with Sachin!
I am a huge Dravid fan..and it hurts that he is struggling now :(
cheers!
Kaushik
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