Sachin vs Dravid

True to my word, today’s post shall be on the everlasting battle in sports folders across the nation – Rahul Dravid vs Sachin Tendulkar. Avinash had the best intentions in his mind when he tried to stop me from posting my thoughts on this topic. He has witnessed the fights that I had raised in the Infy Sports folder. Even prior to that, the Gang have been witness to countless arguments that began in 1996. Here is my honest attempt to put to rest all those squabbles and prove that my conclusion is beyond reproach.

“Talent is cheaper than table salt..” is one of my favourite Stephen King quotes. What separates the truly greats from the so-called greats is not talent, nor is it skill, nor is it the oft-misused word – genius. It is the way a person nurtures his talent, uses it effectively to solve the problem at hand. I am not suggesting that greatness has to be measured by a simple ratio of performance to talent. But talent alone wouldn’t and shouldn’t give one an easy entry into the corridors of greatness. And so it is with cricketers as well.

A batsman cannot be judged merely by the number of runs he scores, or a bowler by the number of wickets he gets. Cricket is a team-game, albeit not in the mould of football or basketball or hockey, and it is the manner in which a player responds to the situation that his team is currently in and takes them to a position of victory, or at the very least security, that truly indicates the greatness of a player. The NBA never dishes out a Best Player award at the end of every season. It is always the MVP that is the most presitigious, the trophy more hallowed than any other individual honour. It is given to the player who has been the biggest influential factor in turning his team’s fortunes. The MVP is not given to the player who has scored the most points per game, etc. And so it is with cricketers as well. And more so with batsmen.

Compounding to the parameter of the situation of the game, is the place of battle. Cricket is unique in this respect by the dual problems associated with away games. The crowd support (or lack of) may be a defining factor in most away games in most sports. But in cricket, there is the vagaries of the pitch as well. A great batsman is one who excels in all conditions, be it the swinging conditions of NZ or Zim or the seaming conditions of Aus and WI, and not just the dustbowls of India. It is needless to add that this conquest of varying challenges must contribute to the team’s cause.

Or is it really that needless? Most cricketing judges seem to forget this factor very conveniently when they come to the rescue of Tendulkar. Their common excuse, “How can Sachin help it if the rest don’t rally around?!” holds no water. Batting is more an art of building partnerships rather than accumulating runs. In his illustrious 16 year career, Sachin has racked up around 58 century partnerships. A notable achievement indeed. But when you realise that Dravid has around 51 century partnerships in a career that started 7 years after Sachin’s, 58 seems like a small number. And this partly explains why Dravid has contributed more to the team’s cause than Sachin, despite a career that is almost half as young. And nope, Sachin hasn’t missed too many games since Dravid’s debut – just 5.

Coming to the comparison on their away performances front. Let us first look at their averages in the respective countries:
(figures in bold denote the higher of the two averages)

Overall Career Averages

Country	Sachin	Dravid
AUS	54.15	64.72
BAN	151.00	76.33
ENG	71.60	87.66
NZ	41.50	64.57
PAK	46.66	77.25
SA	42.40	42.11
SL	111.66	46.55
WI	47.69	63.66
ZIM	40.00	75.00

This table highlights the disparity between the 2 batsmen in full glow. There really is no need for me to even explain the implications. But there maybe a few doubters who feel that it is unfair to compare the 2 players as Sachin began his career as a 16 year old, and hence more prone to failings in his early years. The graph below comes to to dispel this very doubt. It shows the averages of the 2 players since Dravid’s debut - 1996-06-20. Now the conditions, opposition, situation are all the exact same for both the players. In fact, Dravid has a handicap of having to quell his initial fears. But I gracefully waive away this handicap. :) With this advantage, one may expect Sachin to come out on tops - but nope! Dravid is still far ahead.

Post-Dravid Averages

Country	Sachin	Dravid
AUS	60.09	64.72
BAN	151.00	76.33
ENG	75.88	87.66
NZ	46.71	64.57
PAK	68.33	77.25
SA	48.22	42.11
SL	116.75	46.55
WI	47.69	63.66
ZIM	48.00	75.00

Now we come to the final lap of the proof. Let us look at the performances of the 2 players with respect to the match results. (post-Dravid’s debut)

Performance wrt Match Result

Result	Player	Average	100s&50s
Win	S	65.37	15
	D	79.08	21
Draw	S	79.23	23
	D	77.58	26
Loss	S	39.90	15
	D	28.89	9

This table makes the picture clearer. Dravid has played 21 innings that helped his team won and 26 that helped them draw – a total of 47. Sachin, on the other hand, has played 38 innings which have either helped India win or draw. But the number which proves who has been the more valuable and influential player for India is the average when India loses. Sachin is nearly 40 with 15 innings of his that failed to help the team, while Dravid languishes at an average of 29 and just 9 innings. If Dravid bats well, India does well. If he doesn’t, India doesn’t. That is the true indicator of an MVP.

After “genius”, the other most oft-misued word has to be “masterpiece”. Nowadays every good innings is anointed as a masterpiece. But the actual masterpieces are those rare innings like Dravid’s 148 at Leeds, or his 233 at Adelaide, or Laxman’s 281 at Kolkata, or Ganguly’s 144 at Brisbane. Can Sachin lay claim to even one such innings? Hmm..maybe his 136 against Pak in Chennai might havemade the list, but as has been his trend he couldn’t see India through. Compare that to Dravid’s 72 against Aus at Adelaide when he stayed till the end to lead us to an historic triumph. And you have the answer.

There were two reasons for me to post this on my blog.
At the most optimistic and altruistic level, I hope this post has served as an eye-opener for a lot of Sachin fans. ;-)

But at a purely selfish level, this has been a good way to vent my frustration at the public for their ignorance of the greatness of the true performer – The Great Wall of India aka Jammy aka Rahul Sharad Dravid.