Sachin Tendulkar vs Donald Bradman

SACHIN TENDULKAR VS. SIR. DONALD BRADMAN

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, a name that cannot fail to ring a bell in the minds of billions across the cricket world is unarguably the best batsman of his generation. It was only fair that the famous cricket analyst Harsha Bhogle quoted,

‘I think Tendulkar is the product of his generation’

But, there is always this nagging question by those who are new to the game of Cricket and relatively inexperienced in the nuances of the game, ‘Is Tendulkar better than the Don (Sir. Donald Bradman). Here is a comparative study with sufficient statistical data about the two best batsmen the game has produced.

Sir. Donald Bradman- Stats

 Sachin Tendulkar-Stats

 

The most contrasting thing, leaving apart, the numbers is the forms of the game. Tendulkar, as we can see has played 2 forms which the Don never had a chance to play. So comparison in terms of ODIs and T20s cannot be done.

Test Cricket, the heart and soul of game, which the young fast generation fails to understand is the only common platform on which both these giants can be compared. Quantitatively, it’s a no-brainer. Tendulkar has a current average of 53.86 whereas the Don. has a staggering average of 99.94, which would have been 100 only if Hollies did not dismiss the Don for an infamous duck in his last innings. But what the average cricket follower fails to understand is that the Don had played only against 4 oppositions. He played against India, England, South Africa and West Indies. His away tours were only to England. Back then, cricket was played only by a handful of countries.

Tendulkar on the other hand, has been exposed to all kinds of changes. When he made his debut in 1989, Cricket had two forms, Test match cricket and LOI (Limited Overs International a.k.a ODI). Later in his career he played T20 cricket, which is not cricket at all, which more looks like baseball, spanking the ball high and wide off every delivery bowled. He played more opposition, in addition to what Don played. He also played in many more countries that Bradman which all go unnoticed in the statistics.

More so, there was something called pressure. In spite of those cynics, Tendulkar has always handled pressure well. No player can survive 24 years of international cricket, every time he goes out to bat one billion people expecting him to notch up a century. Donald Bradman never had this kind of pressure on his back. 

The genius of these batsmen lie more than what numbers show us. Bradman once played in an informal cricket game at Blackheath. He was told by this partner at the other end that the bowler who was currently about to bowl to him had dismissed him once and had been bragging about it in town. The Don made up his mind, dispatching his balls with disdain and notched up a colossal 22 ball 100. Never, in the upcoming years, one can achieve such a feat. I failed miserably even in those video games. I wonder how Sir. Don managed to do it. Back then, an over used to be 8 balls. Hence, Sir. Don’s hundred was notched up in 3 overs. 

The genius of the modern day legend, Tendulkar is beyond passages. It needs books to write about. Some tributes to Tendulkar by various players and other important dignitaries show us how revered the man was in the cricketing fraternity. Few of my favorites are below.

Michael Kasprowicz:
“Don’t bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours."

Andy Flower:
“There are 2 kinds of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.”

Rev David Shepherd:
"Sachin Tendulkar! If he isn't the best player in the world, I want to see the best player in the world".
And at last, my favorite of all, 

BBC Sports:
“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.”

May be the Don was not in a period where electronic media was so popular, that he did not receive tributes. He was more than any adjective the language can describe. To epitomize the complete post, I would rank, 

TENDULKAR-1

 And 

SIR DON-A

A and 1 are two different variables which cannot be compared, yet, the best and first in their respective streams. It only fair not to compare these two legends since Cricket is an evolving game. One can compare Maradona and Messi, never can he/she do it with Bradman and Tendulkar. This is just another specialty of the game, the game we all love, we think and breath about. In the end, the winner is none, but the game itself.