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India's Sachin Tendulkar celebrates hitting a century on day three of the second test against Australia in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Sunday marked the 20th anniversary for Sachin Tendulkar’s glittering Test career. As a 16 year-old tousle-haired rookie, he took on the might of Pakistani quickies Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in the Karachi Test which commenced on 15 November 1989.
He did not set the field on fire as he scored only 15 runs but managed two fifties in other Tests in the series.
The last twenty years have seen the blossoming of many star batsmen; Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar, Javed Miandad, Mark and Steve Waugh and Matthew Hayden being among the brightest in the galaxy. They have impressed in Tests and one-day internationals.
They are rated highly by critics based on their style and flair, prolific run-making and match-winning ability.
But as this is Sachin’s 20th anniversary, let us focus on him and compare him statistically with Lara and Ponting at Test level and with Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Ponting in One-day internationals (ODIs). By runs scored, these four have been the most prolific batsmen in the history of the game.
As Lara has retired from both forms of cricket and Jayasuriya from Tests, it will be particularly interesting to compare the two modern masters, Sachin and Ricky.
Although Ricky, 34, is only 20 months younger than Sachin, he made his Test debut six years after the Indian prodigy.
Statistics do not tell the whole story (at times they mislead) but when one has played for over a decade they give a fair indication.
Below are the Test statistics of the Top 3 Test batsmen:
Tendulkar has scored 12,773 runs at 54.58 in 159 Tests with 42 centuries (highest score 248 not out) and 53 fifties.
Lara blasted 11,953 runs at 52.88 in 131 Tests with 34 centuries (HS 400 n.o.) and 48 fifties.
Ponting has stroked 11,345 runs at 55.88 in 136 Tests with 38 centuries (HS 257) and 48 fifties.
Tendulkar has accumulated the most runs and hit the most centuries in the Test arena. Only Allan Border (63) and Rahul Dravid (57) have hit more fifties than Sachin (53). Lara’s unbeaten 400 remains a Test record.
In ODIs, Tendulkar again leads with 17,178 runs at 44.50 in 436 matches with 45 centuries (HS 186 n.o.) and 91 fifties. He is followed by Jayasuriya, 13,377 runs at 32.54 in 441 matches with 28 centuries (HS 189) and 68 fifties, and Ponting 12,311 runs at 43.19 in 330 ODIs with 28 tons (HS 164) and 73 fifties.
Imagine Tendulkar out-scoring no.2 Jayasuriya by 3,801 runs in five fewer matches. This speaks volumes for his greatness. He has also recorded most centuries (45) and most fifties (91) in ODIs.
Amazing.
Combining statistics at Test and ODI levels, Tendulkar tops with 29,951 runs with 87 centuries in 595 internationals. Then come Ponting 23,656 runs with 66 centuries in 466 matches and Lara 22,358 runs with 53 centuries in 430.
Thus the Indian Little Master is a whopping 6,295 runs and 21 centuries ahead of the next most prolific batsman, Ricky. Sachin needs only 49 runs to touch 30,000 international runs.
Sachin has scored nine ODI centuries against Australia, which is the highest for any player against one country. He occupies second place too, for his eight hundreds against Sri Lanka.
Jayasuriya, with seven hundreds against India and Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar, with seven against Sri Lanka, follow the soft-spoken Indian superstar.
I add in conclusion that against over 130 Tests played by the current greats, Don Bradman played only 52 Tests, Wally Hammond 85, Neil Harvey and Len Hutton 79 each, Everton Weekes 48 and Graeme Pollock 23.
The imagination boggles as to how many runs some of these legends would have amassed on covered pitches with shortened boundary lines, wearing helmets and using new style bats had they played 130 Tests each.
But back then they did not play international cricket day in and night out as they do now.