Manjrekar, Lavakare and others

Sachin versus Bradman:
Viper: parry-g@usa.net: Arvind, Very nice article with a lot of important statistical information. But, as usual statistics though can be used to set a scale of sorts but more often take away the actual sense of argument. First and foremost it needs to be accepted that Tendulkar has played in an era dominatyed by ODI as opposed to Gavaskar and Bradman who played little or no ODI cricket at all. So, a comparison between test performances and ODI would be quite absurd. There too have been quite a few instances where Gavaskar failed to win the match for India viz..Ind vs Pak Test Match in Bangalore which India lost by hmmm...maybe 12 runs. Also, if Gavaskar has saved India from many a precarious situtaions so has Tendulkar. Most importantly, Tendulkar continues to be the best Indian batsmen around for a while because of the confidence that he has been able to inspire in his teamates by virtue of his sheer presence be it in batting or bowling. IMO comparisons are unfair and derrogatory because comparisons are made to decide better versus best and as far as a fan is concerned be it Tendulkar or Gavaskar or Bradman they are all the best.



Sachin versus Bradman:
jack tulani: terapiyo@hotmail.com: what the heck? hey arvind are you not getting enough sex. you suck and you know nothing about cricket. write back if you have the guts to you moron. you piece of crud you scum. jack



Sachin versus Bradman:
Ravishankar Ramaswamy: rravis@asu.edu: Many happy returns of the day Sachin. I hope the other Indian team members are watching and they give you the perfect birthday gift on June 20th by winning the cricket world cup.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Ramki: ram_001@yahoo.com: So what?



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sushila&Rajesh: sushila@AdviceAmerica.com: Hi Sachin, Wish you a very Happy Birthday!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Gopal: parupudi@hotmail.com: Lovely column. For the type of player Sachin is made out to be, he should be producing more match winners esp in Test cricket. Yet, as your column notes, there were many a times when he let us down. Last year or so, he has been on a streak. Let's hope he continues it into the World Cup and into future Test series.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Ram: ram@aol.com: This is a good article that puts things in perspective. Yes, there is so much hype about Sachin... Also, the writer forgot to mention that Gavaskar scored most of his runs against West Indies. Has Sachin scored that many runs against even the present WI? Most of his one-day centuries are against weak teams!!! prabakar



Sachin versus Bradman:
madhup rathi: madhuprathi@hotmail.com: useless article. its so easy to pick faults....



Sachin versus Bradman:
vishal Garg: v_garg@yahoo.com: Well I must say that this guy has gone through a lot of effort to find those instances in which, acoording to him, tendulkar didn't do anything. Well if he expects him to perform in every match then I think that is just not possible as tendulkar is also after all a human being. And if that is the criteria of judging how good a player he is, then he should also qoute those matches which tendulkar has won for India. Also what about those innumerable instances in which Gavaskar did not perform. Well not to take anything away from the little mater, as definitely he was a great batsman, but it would not be right to compare the two as the face of cricket has changed today. The kind of enthusiasm and excitement Tendulkar generates on the field is incomparable. He is definitely a delight to watch and that is what keeps the interest in the game for the public, or the MTV generation as he calls it, and not slow and patient batting which has been the prime reason for the dowfall of Test cricket.



Sachin versus Bradman:
sm: Sham: Atlast, a thought that puts tendulkar where he is!... Hero worship is the weekness of Masses, often exploted by Corporate world to their advantage. thanks for the author for enlightening piece of work. I like the idea 'To be there When Needed'... Indian cricket today is more 'we will be there when he is there'.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Krishna Gopal Wunnava: Krishna.Gopal@mci.com: Arvind, There is no need to compare Bradman,Gavaskar and Sachin who are great players, each from a different era.Such comparisons are grossly unfair to Sachin,whose talent cannot be described by mere words.It is true that Sachin may be a little impetuos at times,and often throws his wicket away when really well set.But that does not in any way undermine his brilliant strokeplay.Gavaskar,for all his greatness,never quite had the range of strokeplay that sachin has at his command.Sachin's ability to blast the bowling is unmatched,and really has few equals.So,each of these players you mentioned are great in their own right.Statistics and figures are really pointless,and do not point to much.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Madhavan Rajagopal: jerrym@rocketmail.com: Many Many Happy returns of the Day Sachin. I wish u good Luck for the World Cup 1999 and hope we come out with all colours in World Cup Tournament. We are all quite eager in watching your natural game. Good Luck once again Bye Madhavan Rajagopal



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sanjay Patel: spat9710@postoffice.uri.edu: Times have changed. I do not agree with the author. You cannot just look at the performances and say this guy is better. Look at how Tendulkar inspires the team. I think that is more important than staying in crease for a long time.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Aditya: net@vsnl.com: Wishing sachin All the very best for the world cup



Sachin versus Bradman:
sameer: tonyk@indiatimes.com.: "Wow" what a great analasys.Don't you see Mr.Lavakare any fool can see these things which you have mentioned. But are you among fools;"WHAT NO" But didn't you prove it Mr.Lavakare.I live in America and I follow basketball game but not as you do Mr. lavakare.If you go by mere statistics than it can be said that many players are great than MICHEAL JORDAN[for he avarages 27.6 a game] but thank GOD it's not the only yardstick which makes a player a great.MJ's collogues says that the great thing about playing with MJ was "he makes all the rest believe that they are as good as he himself.Isn't it also true for sachin.Don't you see how he inspires whole Indian team nay the whole Nation.Don't you see how by playing real agressive cricket he makes rest believe that they can also do that. He is one and only indian who does not afraid of playing fast bowlers.It is a well known fact that if MJ had wished he could have ended his career avarage upto 40 points a game.Isn't it also true for sachin many a times he gets out in order to increase the runrate whereas he easly could bat at an strike of 70[like coward ganguly]. As far as Don was concerned if you really see the footage of era cricket was certainly not upto the standards of modern cricket.Also you can't compare players of different era's.Just like MJ and Dr.J[dre].it is how much a player inspires along with statistics that makes a sportsman great.And certainly Sachin fulfills both of them.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Vikas Gupta: iamvikas@hotmail.com: Playing for Personal Record and Playing for Country is the difference between Sachin and Sunil and now lets talk about Lara and Garry. I agree that garry is great but don't talk about Lara. Give me a break man. Vikas



Sachin versus Bradman:
Dileep: dileept@hotmail.com: SACHIN , WISH YOU A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Madhavan Rajagopal: jerrym@rocketmail.com: First of all I dont like comparing Sachin rather anyone with other players. You cannot just take the runs scored by each person and start comparing the statistics.We should understand atmosphere in which Bradman played is completely different when u compared with today's Competetive teams. We can only appreciate the achievements made by Sachin in his young age rather comparing him with any other players. Thanx Madhavan



Sachin versus Bradman:
Vikas Gupta: iamvikas@hotmail.com: u know what i have a pity on you when u r writing events where India has scored without Sachina nd u found only few one. Now i can write 10 times against your expamles where India has scored Jst because of Tendulkar without Thinking any thing.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Rajesh: kvnr@yahoo.com: I totally agree with Larvin. All these years, I waz bemused at the tondulkar publicity and expectations without any track of performance.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sanath: sanathkumar@wwdg.com: Hi, This column is just stupid. The allegations are baseless. It is not possible for a person to compare a person who has played cricket almost half a century ago. How can one tell if Tendulkar might have played teh same way as Mankad or Bradman in those days? I am not saying that Bradman is not a good bat or anything lik ethat. But it is plain crap when a person tries to compare players of those days. How can you say that Bradman would have played well if he played in these days? It just does not make any sense to me. As far as the comparision regarding Gavaskar with Tendulkar, here are just the facts. As long as Gavaskar is at the crease, with his Boycottish style of playing, everyone was in the doubt if India would win that game or not. Well, that is nto the case with Tendulkar for as long as Tendulkar is at the crease, any person new to the game of cricket can be sure that India is winning. No team needed to get Gavaskar out for India to win, but any team required that Tendulkar should be out early if they should beat India. Gavaskar is a good test match batsman, not a one-day batsman. When the author of this column gives us so many statistics, why does he not realise that for one-day cricket, as much as the average, the strike rate is also equally important.. Why does he not compare of the strike rate of Gavaskar and Tendulkkar??? Let him think on these columns. This box inwhich I am typing this message is just too small and irritates me more than this column itself. The bottomline is just this. It is absurd to compare Tendulkar with Bradman. They are cricketers of a different era. It is like comparing Chandra Gupta Maurya with Vajpayee. As far as comparing Tendulkar with Gavaskar, Tendulkar's strike rate speaks for itself.Instead of searchign for the averages, let him search for the strike rate. He will konw the difference.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Vaidy: vaidyk@att.com: Dear Sachin, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! You can make 1999 your year by winning the world cup for India and for those fans of yours. Thats one thing that would stop any one with a pen unfairly criticise u. About this article: This column is totally stupid. The author has definitely tried to compare bananas with oranges and also, the authors tone and intentions seem malicious. I dont uderstand why does he need to compare the little genius sachin with Gavaskar or for that matter with Bradman. All are great at different periods of time. I would like to remind arvind the following: (1) Sachin is the only batsman of whom Bradman has spoken highly of including "I can see traces of my batting style" or to that effect. (2) Definitely, Gavaskar is not in sachins class. There are many instances when India won because of sachin's brilliance alone. Asking him to score match winning knocks every time itself sounds absurd and supports the claim that He is the most consistent batsman in the Indian team. (3) Talking about staying power: Definitely sachin never will play 60 overs for a 36 not out. All the statistics thrown in by Arvind seems to favor Gavaskar for the simple reason that, that tells only half the story. It is not sachin's fault that India did not play many test matches in 1998. Also there are many subjective factors that needs to be considered before comparing Gavsakar's first 105 test innings to that of Sachin. Lets see. At what age did Gavaskar start playing test cricket and at what age did he play his 105th innings? Do the same for Sachin. How about the quality of opposition? Gavaskar had a Kapil dev, Vengsarkar and other greats to back him so that he could play long innings..How many Kapil dev or Vengsarkar like batsmen do we have today to keep sachin company? (4) Contemporary cricket: Comparing with Kirsten. Lara and co is equally ridiculous. How do you compare shot selection, Intensity, grace and style? Is it reflected in the statistics? Today's statistics might show that sachin lags Kirsten and Lara. However, to think about it, it may well be the opposite after lets say the world cup. If sachin can bat with his natural flair and score consistently to the point where his average is above that of Lara and Kirsten, I have to search for this Arvind Lavakre all over India. Let me wrap-up here. Lot of people accept Bradman and Gavaskar as one of the best batsmen ever to have played cricket. I am not taking any credit away. However, doing unrealistic comparison with Sachin only irritates a cricket-literate fan. My Best wishes to the Indian team as it prepares its World Cup onslaught.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Nrasimha Reddy Mudupu: nrmudupu@hotmail.com: HI SACHIN WISH YOU A HAPPY MANY MANY RETURN OF THE DAY.HOPE YOU WILL BRING THE WORLD CUP99 FOR INDIA.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Murugan: murun_g@hotmail.com: I have no idea who this Arvind is, but reading his article I find one thing, he has had a very bad experience in the past in writing articles. I think none of his articles would have been read by people, just to create a sort controversy, he has written this article. Things change and one has take up the change, will he be wearing a bell bottom pant, or have a huge collar in his shirt, defenitely not. The standard of the game has changed and too Sachin, Will this Arvind watch Sachin to play of 600 mins and score a 100. Whatever he has mentioned is stupidity ? Stop writing this kind of meaniless articles, for we cannot waste our time like you....... Murugan



Sachin versus Bradman:
Bashobi: bgs@hotmail.com: Why has rediff de-activated all feedback possibilities?



Sachin versus Bradman:
Kumar Ram: rkumar@firemail.jbhunt.com: The very fact that sachin is atleast compared to these all time greats like gavaskar, bradman is more than enough for him. But he needs to take this critisiscm to the ground for every innings he plays and leave no place for any more such critisicsm. also gavaskar, bradman did not have such huge crowds watching them or such huge media pressure or did not have to face some strong criticism like this



Sachin versus Bradman:
Radha: radhaj@hotmail.com: this is a totally biased ant tendulkar column.the instances of tendlkar lack of performance are stupid.even bradman faild in his last innings.now our author will say he was bad too.this is atrocious and is the stupidest article seen



Sachin versus Bradman:
Bashobi: bgs@hotmail.com: I think the sdtatistics you put out stand true to a certain degree. But the amount of cricket being played these days and particularly by the Indian team has affected the performances of the regulars a great deal. So compare number of days played in a year between Gavaskar and Tendulakar, and Tendulkar might appear in a better light, better than Laramor Kirsten, or Gavaskar too. Until a few months ago, The W.Indies team was not heard of too much.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Jasraj Singh: jasrajs@hotmAIL.COM: Hi Sachin, Wish you best of luck for the world cup and all ur future endeavours.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Bashobi: bgs@hotmail.com: I think the statistics you put out stand true to a certain degree. But the amount of cricket being played these days and particularly by the Indian team has affected the performances of the regulars a great deal. So compare number of days played in a year between Gavaskar and Tendulakar, and Tendulkar might appear in a better light, better than Lara or Kirsten, or Gavaskar too. Until a few months ago, The W.Indies team was not heard of too much.



Sachin versus Bradman:
vikram: gvvikky@mailcity.com: Well What Can I say? This is the most one sided argument I ever read. I think we can literally count the failures of tendulkar. Whereas we can count the successes of many other players. This index alone would give what tendulkar has achieved so far. There is no doubt that Don was the greatest player. Gavaskar a great player, but please don't disparage sachin's achievements. He is by far the best cricketer I have ever seen.



Sachin versus Bradman:
prasanna C.S.: cspras@yahoo.com: Looks like Arvind Lavakare is anti Sachin. I agreed with test match statisticsbut in one day making more run is important, not staying more time in pitch. Also any game end result is more important than comparing in between.



Sachin versus Bradman:
John: ptjohn@hotmail.com: A Very Happy birthday Sachin. Keep the Good work and bring the world cup to India.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Jayaram.Penna: jayaram.penna@mci.com: Dear Arvind, Kudos to your statistical analysis. But I would like to remind you the changing trends in cricket should be taken in to consideration for any sort of comparision.For example the innings played by Gavaskar against keith Fletcher's team in Banglore is one of the most boring centuries as draw was the sole intention of the man. Also he was trying hard to come into the form thus putting all others at stop.It is not for one or two shots, People of India or as a matter ,world labelled tendulkar as the present best but for the way he captivated the audience with his spellbounding cricket.Aggressive attitude is what differentiates him with other greats in Indian cricket.He is always the bowlers nightmare where Gavaskr was not so.though tendu is out for 30 or so,the next player would come with lot of confidence as tendu has already decimated the bowler's confidence.To remind you it is not the kind of jayasurya's batting but aggressive packed with sound technique makes tendulkar distinctly great.it is not just media hype or illiterate indian mass feeling that made tendulkar great but the players of other teams,experienced veterans and resounding memories of his terrific batting projected him as the 'BEST'.Ofcourse it is also sport where someday belongs to somebody and that should not be attributed as a failure.If you know in BasketBall in USA, Michael Jordan is the best for the people here though the other players like Jabbar(in past) and Carl Malone in present have better statistics .It is all the way you play, the intention with which you play and the purpose of the game(to win for the motherland,to give audience the money worth)that makes the best player a real 'Super Star'.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Tushar Shah: tushar74@yahoo.com: Amazing!! Keep it up. Next time spruce it up with graphs and tables like the americans do. Great article. But i still think Sachin is the best.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Jayaram.Penna: jayaram.penna@mci.com: Dear Arvind, Kudos to your statistical analysis. But I would like to remind you the changing trends in cricket should be taken in to consideration for any sort of comparision.For example the innings played by Gavaskar against keith Fletcher's team in Banglore is one of the most boring centuries as draw was the sole intention of the man. Also he was trying hard to come into the form thus putting all others at stop.It is not for one or two shots, People of India or as a matter ,world labelled tendulkar as the present best but for the way he captivated the audience with his spellbounding cricket.Aggressive attitude is what differentiates him with other greats in Indian cricket.He is always the bowlers nightmare where Gavaskr was not so.though tendu is out for 30 or so,the next player would come with lot of confidence as tendu has already decimated the bowler's confidence.To remind you it is not the kind of jayasurya's batting but aggressive packed with sound technique makes tendulkar distinctly great.it is not just media hype or illiterate indian mass feeling that made tendulkar great but the players of other teams,experienced veterans and resounding memories of his terrific batting projected him as the 'BEST'.Ofcourse it is also sport where someday belongs to somebody and that should not be attributed as a failure.If you know in BasketBall in USA, Michael Jordan is the best for the people here though the other players like Jabbar(in past) and Carl Malone in present have better statistics .It is all the way you play, the intention with which you play and the purpose of the game(to win for the motherland,to give audience the money worth)that makes the best player a real 'Super Star'.



Sachin versus Bradman:
surendranth R Bada: sbada@hotmail.com: I really like this great report which in reality gives more introspection to Sachin Tendulkar and makes him alert to achive lot of things in his cricket life. Arvind you really did great job to provoke SACHIN and gave lot of work to his brain to establish himself a great player.Unless many reporters used to just boost him, but you really drawn good statistics to distinguish them and gave a clear picture of where SACHIN is standing. I am a great fan of SACHIN, that is way I admire this report, so that SACHIN can do so many wonders in the world of cricket. Best of luck to sachin on your 26th birthday and give us 5 centuries in the WORLD CUP99, TO equal you ODI (21 to 26)centuries to your 26th birthday.



Sachin versus Bradman:
ariel jackson: jayasoorya@hotmail.com: mr lavakre GO TO HELL!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sanjeev: jha_savi@yahoo.com: This report is baised. Everybody has positive and negative aspect of his career. If you select only negative part then definetly you can prove anyone failed. I admit Don is taller in cricket history than Sachin but Gavaskar is not even comparable to Sachin in any feild. Before going to average and statistics, you should consider than game type. Sachin engineered many ODI victory ..how much Sunil ?? Sunil has only one century in ODI. Finally, If you analyze the kind of game... Sunil, Dilip, Don had played for them but Sachin played always for team. Welcome your reply. bye SAnjeev



Sachin versus Bradman:
Kiran Kodre: Kiran_Kodre@hotmail.com: To understand what will power is ask Sachin to watch the quarter finals/finals of last and the previous year's Basket Ball match performance of Michael Jordan. These tapes should be the best gift for Sachin's on his birthday.



Sachin versus Bradman:
manav agarwal: longhorn20@hotmail.com: Great way to get some cheap publicity for the author. Is it really enough to have a command over English to write on Rediff's WC 99 web page?



Sachin versus Bradman:
Puneet: puneet100@yahoo.com: Arvind , What you mention about Tendulkar is true to some extent. BUT Gavaskar did let the bowlers dominate ( and there is nothing wrong with it) What Sachin does is that he dominates . That is the true definition of a great batsman and that's what puts him at par with Bradman. Also when comparing the averages of others , do remember that Sachin did not open till the 76th match or so and came low down the orders . Compare the averages after that and Bingo !!! What about the 19 Centuries ??? He still needs to mature a bit BUT along with Bradman he is the greatest that will ever play this glorious game. Puneet



Sachin versus Bradman:
Kiran Kodre: Kiran_Kodre@hotmail.com: To understand what will power is ask Sachin to watch the quarter finals/finals of last and the previous year's Basket Ball match performance of Michael Jordan. These tapes should be the best gift for Sachin on his birthday.



Sachin versus Bradman:
vijay: vijay_ramani@hotmail: Arvind Lavakre.. u suck big time.. u r mad.. dont u think before u ink.. if u cant, dont ever write in here..



Sachin versus Bradman:
So Ki: I1915@hotmail.com: Finally someone got the guts to spill out some truth. A performance matters only when it is needed most.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Rajeev : rsehgal@hotmail.com: Mr Arvind Lavakare I dont think you have any clue what you are talking about or what cricket is all about. Maybe you havent achieved anything in your life and so you cant see the whole nation drooling on Sachin. HE is THE BEST in the game. He is Micheal Jordan of Cricket. I dont know how much you know about Micheal Jordan or if you even know who he is or what sport he played. Please stop writing and wasting othewr people's time. I for sure will never read any bullshit that you have to spit out. Get a life ok!!



Sachin versus Bradman:
Krishna: kadabala@yahoo.com: This is a very lop sided article. It talks only of all those instances when Tendulkar failed to deliver the goods, but not a single mention of all those matches that were won solely by his marvellous feats. Looks like Mr. Lavakare expects Tendulkar to perform a miracle in each and every match. What about the matches when Gavaskar or Bradman failed to perform? It only shows up the ignorance of Mr.Lavakare in trying to take the three greatest batsmen of all time and trying to put a ranking on their backs. All three are great in their own ways and trying to put a ranking on their skills is an injustice to them. Also, Lavakare seems to think statistics is the sole measure of a cricketer's greatness. He will do well to realize that all the statistics don't mean a damn thing if they can not turn losing situations into victories.



Sachin versus Bradman:
who the hell is arvind?: kuntodu@hotmail.com: what the f... is this guy thinking of himself?hey arvind, if you like to have something going, you better change your opinion dumb ass. and what has gone into rediff?dont you all remember thetimes when it was all sachin? is this the gift he deserves?cmon!everyone except for the ass, aravind knows what.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Sridhar: cricket_gatorfan@yahoo.com: This article just shows that you can use statistics to prove anything!! To compare Sunny and SRT's batting in ODI is silly. Averages by themselves dont imply superior performance; one has to also take strike rates into account. The Test match records of SRT and Sunny are very similar. This is in itself an indicator of SRT's superiority as he is a very attacking batsamn unlike Sunny.



Sachin versus Bradman:
Pankaj Goenka: pankajgoenka@indiatimes.com: hey , i dont agree to this sachin is the greatest wish u all the best for the world cup bring back that cup



Sachin versus Bradman:
Gautam Wagle: gswagle@hotmail.com: Well before my view on the above column turns in, I am sure, the writer would have had several wishes thrown at him from all around the corners, bad ones that is. Yes it is true that Don was great infact a true legend he is and so is Gavaskar but that does not reduce the fact that Sachin is not another great one. To be compared to Don by himself is a big achievment and to have stayed humble and focussed on the game makes him what he is today, a genious. Brian Lara was taken to the top by people when he achieved those world record innings both in test and first class but he lost his cool and players from yesteryears were quick to point that it is his skill to keep focussing on the game that will make him a legend. Mr. Lavkare has pointed out a few matches where Sachin has not performed and we still have won. It is commendable of the other players who have been shadowed by this little man's brilliance but is it not true that Mr. Lavkare has probably counted those matches on his fingers. It is a shame that we have o depend on a single man for our fortunes in cricket. We have some talented players but it just doesnt seem to click for the team unless Sachin is on the field. He has an air about him that exudes brilliance and confidence. Statistics are not the name of the game. Vinod Kambli probably has better average than Sachin in tests, just because he has played all matches at home and when he was in form. Sachins first 105 one-days cannot be compared to Gavaskars 105 innings at all. Gavaskar used to open the innings whereas Sachin for a better part of these one-days used to bat in the lower middle order and did not have the overs at his disposal to accumulate runs. What would be interesting is to compare his 105 innings that he has opened for India against Gavaskar's 105 innings and the picture would be clear. The same may also be true in the longer version of the game. Sachin bats in the middle order and our lower order is not particularly good at sticking to the wicket and if one finds himself running out of partners, he may have to resort to different tactics during which time, he may lose his wicket. Finally all said and done, yes Don Bradman is a legend, Gavaskar is a masterpiece. The world has witnessed it and though I have unfortunately missed the better part of both their careers, I am fortunate enough to have been born in the Tendulkar era and I wish him all the best and Many more happy years of Indian cricket.

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