Wisden Cricket conducted a special poll yesterday, where it pit Rahul Dravid against Sachin Tendulkar in a survey to decide the Greatest Indian Test Cricketer from the last 50 years. Surprisingly, Dravid edged Tendulkar by the margin of 52%-48% to win the title of the greatest Indian Test cricketer. One can argue that the former Rajasthan Royals batsman had the best defensive technique ever, but Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the highest runs in Test cricket.
Comparing the numbers of both the batsmen in the most extended form the game, Sachin Tendulkar played 200 Test matches for India, where he batted in 329 innings, scoring 15,921 runs at a magnificent average of 53.79. Rahul Dravid appeared in 164 games and batted in 286 Test innings. His aggregate was 13,288 runs. Besides, he averaged 52.31, slightly lesser than Tendulkar. The Mumbai-based legend even betters his teammate when it comes to strike rate. Tendulkar had a decent strike rate of 54.08, much better than Dravid’s 42.51.
Perhaps, the fans ignored all the above statistics and only focused on which batsman could last longer.
Ultimately, that is one of the most influencing factors in the red-ball arena. Despite playing 36 matches less than Tendulkar, Dravid faced 31,258 balls in his career, almost 2,000 deliveries more than Tendulkar.
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This result has started a debate on Twitter as fans are discussing who is the better batsman. Some are incredibly overjoyed by knowing that Dravid pipped Tendulkar in the poll. On the other hand, the fans of Sachin Tendulkar feel that almost all batsmen dominated the 2000s because it was a batsman-dominated era. In the 1990s, bowlers had the upper hand over the batsmen. Since Tendulkar performed magnificently in both the decades, he should receive the title of the Greatest Indian Test Cricketer in the last 50 years. Sunil Gavaskar took the 3rd spot in the race, while the current Indian skipper Virat Kohli had to settle for the fourth position.
