Sachin Tendulkar is the all time greatest batsman and better than Don - Nasser Hussain

[ViruRulez]

I have never liked comparisons between great players, but after Wednesday’s incredible game it must be said — Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time. Better than Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, the other two great players of my era. Better than Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. And I would even say better than Sir Don Bradman himself. Now he has the first double hundred in a one-day international — hitting 25 fours and three sixes as India beat South Africa by 153 runs — he has swung it for me. SACHIN BY NUMBERS 46 One-day international hundreds 47 Test hundreds 166 Test matches played 240 Sixes in all international cricket 442 One-day internationals 13,447 Test runs scored 17,598 one-day international runs 45.12 One-day international batting average 55.56 Test batting average I played against Tendulkar on my first England tour, the Nehru Cup in India in 1989, and I could still see that excited boy in big pads in Gwalior. That extraordinary drive and enthusiasm are what make Tendulkar so special. He has been playing international cricket for 20 years under the intense scrutiny being an Indian superstar brings, so it is remarkable he still loves holding a bat as much as ever. Halfway through the Indian innings on Wednesday, Tendulkar was already on more than a hundred. It’s almost a given that he will reach three figures. But even he had not turned it into a double in a 50-over international before, and this was not against a lowly side but South Africa, one of the most formidable bowling attacks in the world. There was no slogging — just pure, attacking strokeplay. Tendulkar has gone back to being the fluent, almost flamboyant, batsman he used to be. In recent years his innings had become a bit mechanical, but I think he has remembered what made him great. I interviewed Sachin for Sportsmail when he was touring England a couple of years ago — one of the highlights of my career since I stopped playing, and it was noticeable that he is not driven by money. He has become a very wealthy man, but that has been as a result of doing what he does best and enjoying it. It has not been the be all and end all for him. What else is left for Tendulkar now? Well, it is sometimes said that he has not played enough match-winning innings on the really big occasion for India. What better, then, than to score a hundred in the World Cup final against Australia — or maybe even England — on home soil this time next year. That would be the full stop that would enable Tendulkar to ride off into the sunset with everything achieved in his career. My admiration for him is total. To steal the nickname of a certain football coach who led Inter Milan against Chelsea on Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar truly is The Special One.

:adore::isalute: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1253563/NASSER-HUSSAIN-Mighty-Sachin-Tendulkar-tops-Lara-Ponting-The-Don.html?ITO=1490

[Gunner_Mania]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/poll/2010/feb/25/sachin-tendulkar-greatest-batsman Can you guys please vote in this poll?

[Zero_Unit]

If cricket had a god, it would be Tendulkar himself :) ... Once in a lifetime a player like him will show up

[Hitterman]

I don't agree with Hussain. You can't compare Sachin and Don. They are equal in their levels. Can you compare Shri Ganesha with Shri Vishnu? We worship both of them. :)

[Watson87]

I don't agree with Hussain. You can't compare Sachin and Don. They are equal in their levels. Can you compare Shri Ganesha with Shri Vishnu? We worship both of them. :)

If Sachin batted against the same sort of bowlers over and over, he would have averaged 200 instead of beardman's 99.94. Common to think of it Bradman abused the same English bowlers, also a very boring batsman compared to Sachin.

[Hitterman]

@Bravo, I agree but at that time in a year only 5-6 matches used to take place. To be honest, I am a big fan of MB but Bradman is also a great batsman.

[Temujin Khaghan]

If Sachin batted against the same sort of bowlers over and over' date=' he would have averaged 200 instead of beardman's 99.94. Common to think of it Bradman abused the same English bowlers, also a very boring batsman compared to Sachin.[/quote'] thats only one criteria bro what about the mental and physical strain... sachin has been travelling all the time to various countries and has to adjust to different kinds of conditions. and even the number matches he needs to play in a calender year.

[DomainK]

If Sachin batted against the same sort of bowlers over and over' date=' he would have averaged 200 instead of beardman's 99.94. Common to think of it Bradman abused the same English bowlers, also a very boring batsman compared to Sachin.[/quote'] I would tend to agree. Same pitches, same bowlers over and over.

[Gunner_Mania]

If Sachin batted against the same sort of bowlers over and over' date=' he would have averaged 200 instead of beardman's 99.94. Common to think of it Bradman abused the same English bowlers, also a very boring batsman compared to Sachin.[/quote'] What is to say Sachin wouldn't have got bored halfway through? Wonder how bored would Viru have got??

[ViruRulez]

What is to say Sachin wouldn't have got bored halfway through? Wonder how bored would Viru have got??

Viru is a different matter ... I dont consider Viru anywhere near a great personally ... Sachin and Viru are light years apart .. Sachin lives for the game every moment .. he would never have got tired for sure .. he simply loves and is dedicated towards the game .. no cricketer in history of the game has loved the game as much as Sachin .. I personally wont say Sachin is better than Don for sure but cannot say Don is better than Sachin too .. there are different factors .. Sachin is the best ever in ODIs for sure

[Hitterman]

Viru has a very different style. Though he may have a better strike rate than Sachin but looking at his shots you can find the difference. Sachin, Dravid and Laxman are the only Indian cricketers who have variety in their shots.

[Guest Gunner]

The Special one. :nea: THE ONE.

[Don Sharma]

If Sachin batted against the same sort of bowlers over and over' date=' he would have averaged 200 instead of beardman's 99.94. Common to think of it Bradman abused the same English bowlers, [b']also a very boring batsman compared to Sachin.

Not true. Just because he didn't hit the ball in the air as often, he can't be tagged as a boring batsman(he has hit a total of just six 6's in his entire career). BJ Wakley claims in his book 'Bradman the Great' that Don scored at 42 runs per hour. If that isn't aggressive then what is? *I don't want to get sucked into these mindless comparisons

[Sachinism]

Surprised to see this coming from Hussain - :hatsoff:

[Hitterman]

*I don't want to get sucked into these mindless comparisons

Agree with you, Sachin is really the great but Don is great too. Haan, if you want to compare Sachin with Ponting then that is justified.

[Ram]

How many times should it be insisted that you simply CANNOT compare players across eras? Its an inherently flawed way of assessing batsmen. Everyone loses no chance in saying that Bradman faced the same set of bowlers in the same set of venues. How does that take any greatness away from him? He can do only what is asked of him. Could he have possibly insisted that he play England in India in the 1930s, just because he knew, 70 years later, cricket fans all over the world would use that as one of the reasons to belittle his achievements? And lets just assume that Sachin was born in the same era as Bradman. For all you know, his body might not have coped up with the diseases that prevailed back then (remember, there werent as many vaccines and antibiotics like they were today). Maybe a tennis elbow injury back then would have for all purposes ended his career, since sports medicine and injury rehabilitation were a fraction of what it is, today. Who knows, the 3 week sea journey b/w England and Australia or India and England might have left a young Sachin terribly homesick and incapable of facing the challenges on the cricketing field. Conversely, had Bradman been born today, he might have found the heat and sweltering conditions of his subcontinental to his detriment. And just like Glenn McGrath constantly tormented Brian Lara in an otherwise brilliant career, there might have been another bowler who could have had the better of Bradman. And then, there's the question of constant traveling, packing and scientific analysis that Bradman might have had to deal with, had he been born today. How much would have all these impacted his batting? Who knows. The fact of the matter, no Indian fan can prove with any sense of conviction that Sachin is better than Bradman and no Australian can prove Bradman is better than Sachin. Those who insist on doing so are letting theirpartisan considerations get the better of their common sense.

[Bradman99]

Bradman is still the man, but Tendulkar is clearly the 2nd best.

[Hitterman]

Bradman is still the man, but Tendulkar is clearly the 2nd best.

I still want to say Bradman and Sachin both are No.1. No one is No.2 or something :)

[Karan114]

Surprised to see this coming from Hussain - :hatsoff:

Same. But fair play to him on this occasion :two_thumbs_up:

[Bradman99]

I still want to say Bradman and Sachin both are No.1. No one is No.2 or something :)

I have no problem with that. But when people say Tendulkar are number 1, I'll say Bradman is number 1 lol.