Was Sachin Tendulkar a better test match or one day batsman?

[Harsh Thakor]

Inspite of being so different from conventional cricket,one day cricket is morally as challenging as the 5 day version,Analyse the pressure faced by batsman in organizing a run chase or building an innings in a liimited range of time.In the one day version batsmen are compelled to improvise.True technical standards have decline with it's advent but it has brought about a metamporphosis in the batting style. In this piece I wished to analyze whether Sachin was better test match or one day batsmen.No doubt he was outstanding in both forms of the game but it was in the limited overs version that it was Sachin first and daylight 2nd.Tendulkar dominated the one day game in his era like an alien coming from another planet.He exuded the command of an emperor annexing kingdom after kingdom.Brian Lara ,his contemporary scored only 19 centuries while Ponting is the runner up with 49.Tendulkar's best innings have been scored in the one day game.Wisden has included 3 innings of Sachin in their all-time 100 best one day innings but not a single test century of Sachin's in their 100 best test match innings.Sachin's 98 v Pakistan in the 2003 world cup at centurion park,his back-to back centuries at Sharjah v Australia in 1998 ,unbeaten 200 v South Africa in 2011 and his 175 at Nagpur v Australia in 2009 are a testimony to this.Sachin has not demolished the likes of Wasim Akram ,Shoaib Akhtar or Waqar Younus in test matches as he did in 2003 in the world cup nor torn Warne and Mcgrath apart like he did in Sharjah in 1998 in the longer version of the game.Statistaically he towere over contemporaries like Lara and Ponting or Kallis in the one day game.In the test arena Kallis may he even surpass Tendulkar's run and century aggregate.At the time of his retirement Lara was very marginally better than Tendulkar in test matches.In his peak era Ricky Ponting was the best batsmen of the modern era averaging around 71 and scoring over 8,000 runs.Lara was also marginally ahead of Sachin in test matches in his peak era with a greater penchant for registering mammoth scores. In some ways it is amazing that Sachin performed better in O.D.I's Sachin's technical brilliance was more suited to 5 day test cricket,with his mastery in the region of the 'V'.Sachin was technically sounder than the more dashing Brian Lara whose natural style was more suited for the one day game.Strikingly in O.D.I's Sachin has a higher scoring rate while in test matches Lara has a better scoring rate.Maybe why Sachin was more prolific in the shorter version was the standard of bowling in O.D.I.s,the restriction sin field placings ,his opening the batting and the lesser l pressure.Possibly Sachin would have been regarded an even greater batsman if he had displayed the same superiority in test cricket as he did in the limited overs game.It is fascination that Kallis,Ponting and Lara are far closer to Sachin in test match aggregate runs and centuries than in their one day aggregate of runs and centuries.Again we ask whether combing tset and O.D.I figures is the correct yardstick. No doubt in terms of longevity Sachin was even the best test match batsman .However in his peak in an innings,series or Calendar year Brian Lara was marginally better .Lara could single-handedly turn a game. As a match-winner I thought Sachin was better in O.D.I's.At times he lacked the killer punch to strike the final nail in the coffin in run chases but still he won countless one day games for India. Overall bar Viv Richards Sachin is the best of all O.D.I batsman.Viv made a greater contribution to the team's cause and won many more games.Personally I would not back Bradman or Sobers to equal Viv or Sachin in O.D.I's So we again ask ourselves whether the one day game is a s true a test and as accurate a yardstick as the 5 day version .The author disagrees with it. In the author's view Tendulkar was a better batsman in one day Internationals than test matches be it in a crisis or as a match-winner. Most runs in O.D.I's Player Span Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 SR Tendulkar (India) 1989-2012 463 452 41 18426 200* 44.83 21367 86.23 49 96 20 RT Ponting (Aus/ICC) 1995-2012 375 365 39 13704 164 42.03 17046 80.39 30 82 20 ST Jayasuriya (Asia/SL) 1989-2011 445 433 18 13430 189 32.36 14725 91.20 28 68 34 KC Sangakkara (Asia/ICC/SL) 2000-2013 354 331 36 11798 169 39.99 15396 76.63 16 79 12 Inzamam-ul-Haq (Asia/Pak) 1991-2007 378 350 53 11739 137* 39.52 15812 74.24 10 83 20 JH Kallis (Afr/ICC/SA) 1996-2012 321 307 53 11498 139 45.26 15756 72.97 17 85 16 SC Ganguly (Asia/India) 1992-2007 311 300 23 11363 183 41.02 15416 73.70 22 72 16 DPMD Jayawardene (Asia/SL) 1998-2013 404 378 38 11354 144 33.39 14488 78.36 16 70 26 R Dravid (Asia/ICC/India) 1996-2011 344 318 40 10889 153 39.16 15284 71.24 12 83 13 Observe how far Sachin is above other stalwarts. BC Lara (ICC/WI) 1990-2007 299 289 32 10405 169 40.48 13086 79.51 19 63 16

[Prakat]

ODIs by far. It was the format, still in its nascent stage, that he took to like no other batsman had before him. By excelling in the shorter game he gave it the stature and acceptance of the older and established format. If the best batsman in the world takes to it like fish to water then it is surely good cricket.

[DomainK]

There are many other batsmen who could be called as good or nearly as good when it comes to tests. He never could score a triple century in tests, something many other tests greats have achieved. But he has scored a double in ODIs, which not too many can even dream of getting close to. In ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar stands taller than the rest. He is simply the greatest ODI batsman ever to walk the earth.

[Temujin Khaghan]

rahul dravid is superior to sachin in test cricket also when it mattered VVS saved us a lot more times than sachin (on difficult wickets) sehwag won us games singlehandedly more times in test cricket... sachin was more consistent at being magnificent than VVS and sehwag its like sachin kept moving from 80-90 with bradman being 100 and 95+ being genius mode sehwag, vvs made regular visits to 90-97 but settled at 75-85 otherwise dravid was at 85-92 on a regular basis --- sachin is god in odi no doubt... in test, all were equals at one point of time - sachin, dravid, sehwag and vvs being the spinal cord of our test line up... but dravid was on a different plane altogether many times.

[Number]

Definitely. Although he owns everyone in tests too but in ODIs he is daylight ahead of everyone.

[cricketman]

There are a few names that come close to sachin in test cricket - dravid, ponting, lara etc. But no one comes even close to him in ODIs.

[Temujin Khaghan]

There are a few names that come close to sachin in test cricket - dravid' date=' ponting, lara etc. But no one comes even close to him in ODIs.[/quote'] more than ponting, kallis i think ponting was nonsense against spinners in asia