Sachin Tendulkar vs. Steve Smith
Picture Credits: www.ibtimes.co.in
I've been a huge Sachin Tendulkar fan for years and still am, so much so that I've argued with my friends, family, fought with them and I can't listen to anything against Sachin Tendulkar. In the end, he's the God. In fact, he's the reason why I started watching cricket in the first place. As a batsman and as a person, he has been inspiring generations after generations.
On the other hand, there's a boy from Australia who comes up to the international arena and believed by many as the next Shane Warne and a few years later is being regarded as the next Sir Donald Bradman. He's Steve Smith, who with his unorthodox style of batting has taken the world of cricket by storm. The Ashes 2019 belonged to him and it's not the only series which belonged to him, so don't get me wrong here that I am basing this comparison on only Ashes 2019
Mind digging the numbers for both of them? Let's do it, we'll stick to only Tests.
1. No. of Tests played
There's no doubt about this one. Sachin Tendulkar is retired and has played 200 Tests, the only person till date to play 200 Tests. Steve Smith currently has played 68 Tests, which is far less and he's already 30, so I don't think so he's ever going to reach 200 Tests. In fact, I don't think anyone would reach 200 Tests. The fact is, when it comes to endurance, Sachin Tendulkar takes this one.
2. Average
Sachin Tendulkar in his long 24 year career managed to score 15,921 runs at an average of 53.8, which is incredible considering the long 200 matches career. On the other hand, Smith currently averages 64.6 in 68 matches.
If we divide into averages in 2 innings, Steve Smith is way ahead when it comes to first innings average while there is hardly anything to differentiate when it comes to the second innings where Smith takes the lead by fractions.
Let's see how Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Smith compare against other Test playing nations
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One might argue that Steve Smith has played less number of matches against all the teams and overall he hasn't even played half the number of Tests Tendulkar has, so the comparison based on simple average and judging who's the best might look flawed. For the comparison to be more accurate, let's consider the first 68 Tests of the God.
In the first 68 Tests played, Sachin Tendulkar averaged 54.49 which is marginally higher than his career ended average of 53.8. Tendulkar first breached the average of 50 in his 29th Test and since then his average has never fallen below 49, which is a remarkable feat. However, 54.49 as good as it sounds doesn't cross Smith's average of 64.6. Smith first breached the average of 50 in his 25th Test and hasn't gone below 50 till date, in fact it has gone past 60.
Tendulkar's highest average recorded in his Test career ever was 59.17 in the 93rd Test he played. He never crossed the average of 60 mark in his entire career. Smith so far has reached a max average of 64.95 in the 68th Test. Let's see what average does Smith finish his Test career. As of now, he takes this one over Tendulkar.
3. ICC Test Ratings
Both Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Smith have been at No.1 in the ICC Test rankings. Steve Smith is also the current No.1. So what makes this different? It's the rating, not the ranking. Tendulkar has reached a maximum of 898 rating points by the ICC and stands 33rd in the list of the most test rating points. Steve Smith on the other hand is second on the list with his maximum Test rating points being 947. The only one ahead of Smith is Sir Donald Bradman with 961 points. Smith currently has 937 points, it would be interesting to see if he crosses his best ever 947.
Smith's longest reign as the No.1 Test batsman in the World started on 30th Dec 2015 and ended on 5th August 2018, lasting 950 days. After a one year ban, he came back and took back his place on the top in just 3 innings in 2019. Tendulkar's maximum days at the top is 477 days from 22nd May 2000 to 10th Sept 2001. Tendulkar has stayed on top as the No.1 Test batsman for a total period of 1157 days, where as Steve Smith in his short career has spend 1129 days as no.1 Test batsman in the world as of 21st September 2019. He would overtake Tendulkar in no time unless Kohli steps up his game against South Africa
4. Best ever series/Best year
Steve Smith's best ever series would be fresh in everybody's mind. He smashed 3 centuries and 3 half centuries in his 774 run marathon in Ashes 2019 in England, averaging over 110. Sachin Tendulkar on the other hand has never crossed 500 run mark in any series he has played. His highest tally of runs in a single Test series stands at 493 in 4 Tests against Australia in 2007-08 where he scored 2 centuries and 2 half centuries in 8 innings. Steve Smith has scored over 750 runs couple of times in his career, 769 against India in the Border-Gavaskar trophy in 2014-15 along with the recently concluded Ashes. He also has scored 687 runs in the Ashes 2017-18 which shows his hunger for scoring big runs.
The best year for Tendulkar in Test cricket was in 2010, the latter stage of his Test career, where he amassed 1562 runs in 14 Test matches at an average of 78.10. Steve Smith's best year so far has been 2015 where he scored 1474 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 73.70. Sachin Tendulkar has crossed the 1000 run mark 6 times in his 24 year long career, where as Smith has already crossed the 1000 run mark 4 times in his 9 year old career.
5. Impact on the game
In a career lasting over 24 years and 200 Tests, Tendulkar has inspired many including me to follow the sport or take it as a career for most of the people in India. He's inspired over a generation and numbers are surely a thing but the aura of Tendulkar is what is talked about the most.
Steve Smith has not got that good boy image with him anymore after the sandpaper saga but the way he's come back surely has impacted a lot of lives and taught many to accept their mistakes and come back with a bang. His unorthodox style of batting and scoring runs also has impacted the game where it is trying to tell youngsters that to play cricket, you don't need to go by the books, you need to choose a style that suits you the best
Both are legends in cricket and Smith will probably break a lot of records in the future. I would never believe I would say this, and as much as I am happy for Smith, the same I am sad for Tendulkar, because for me, it's really tough to pick one and I choose to pick Steve Smith ahead of Sachin Tendulkar.
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