bro im pakistani and i think Sachin is either the best, or second best player i have ever seen play.. Lara the only one to challenge him for that crown. I can assure u most pakistani's who actually enjoy watching good cricket love watching sachin bat! for instance his 175 recently against australia was quite remarkable and a treat to watch!
Allan Donald talks abt Sachin ,Lara ,Steve waugh in an interview in 2009 , I had been watching Sachin Tendulkar on and off before we (South Africa) were readmitted in 1991. Everything about him is just so exceptional. He is wonderful technically and he has everything - class, speed, all the shots, and he is cool under pressure. Cricketers always talk about his amazing balance, even the Aussies. I've seen tapes of Sunil Gavaskar and if you split the screen between him and Tendulkar, they look virtually identical. I have never seen a man with such immaculate balance - it is freakish. People go to a Test match just to watch Tendulkar. I, for one, would rather watch him than bowl against him. Actually, I'm glad I'll never have to bowl to him in a Test match again, though I've been quite successful against him. He is No. 1 in my book - the best player I have ever had the privilege of bowling to. There's Steve Waugh and there's Brian Lara, who was wonderful in 1995, but Tendulkar is a class above, consistently special. The best knock I can remember him playing was at Newlands in 1997, when he was just unstoppable. We only got him thanks to a blinding catch by Adam Bacher off a hook shot, otherwise he would have gone on and on. Under Hansie Cronje we studied hard for a Tendulkar weakness. We thought he might be vulnerable, especially early in his innings, to the ball that is bowled from wide of the crease, coming back in off a good length. He might then be bowled through the gate, or be lbw, especially on English wickets. We also tried peppering him with short balls - not many top-class batters like that - but it didn't really seem to bother him. The one thing that might rattle him is being restricted. He loves scoring, and scoring quickly, and if he is frustrated, sometimes he goes out and looks for the big shot. I don't think he really gets rattled by sledging. Glenn McGrath tried it and Tendulkar just kept running at him and hitting him back over his head for four. I think that, like Steve Waugh, sledging just makes him more focused: I don't think it is a good idea to have a word. Tendulkar is already a legend so I'm not sure how he'll be remembered - what comes after legend? . He's the best in the world, one of the most magnificent players there's ever been. He's also a nice guy, a soft-hearted bloke who gives 110% and just loves playing cricket.
Lara was always my favorite batsman, I wouldn't be qualified to say who was the best. Only the top bowlers and captains who faced them can give an answer. Sachin was an unbelievable player who's record will never be beaten in tests in my opinion. Also one of the most humble superstars I've ever listened to, almost self deprecating at times. Cricket was blessed to have these 2 players at the same time. Greatest thing is the respect and friendship the have. Could of been easy for them to have rivalry, especially when everyone else seems to talk about who was/is the best.
LARA and SACHIN both are my favourite batsman not more not less. LARA is dominating batsman(he can dominate any bowler when he is in flow) SACHIN is classic batsman(he is techniqualy perfect batsman). sachin tendulkar told his favourite player is LARA murali told best batsman faced is LARA WHILE SIR BRADMAN told best batsman is SACHIN TENDULKAR his playing style like me.
greatness comes with humbleness...you can see both Lara and Tendulkar they are down to earth and that's why they are great in their fields and God gave them success...
I agree Tendulkar was steady and serious but often likely to score a steady century like Geoff Boycott but Lara just had that natural finesse and style which you don't see very often.
aman gajraj Yes agreed but the difference between an actor like Tom Hanks, very proficient but lacks the excitement of Robert DeNiro but different people have different skills.
Yupp. He killed it in Mean streets. Man, how great was De Niro is mean streets. He was scary good in that. Have you watched all of his best performances ever?
i love that these guys have such respect for each other(lara and tendulkar) this guy has been playing since i was 3 im 21 now and yes i will agree that the number one game of cricket to see is india vs. pakistan but the #2 is west indies vs.india at their prime, east meets west. battle of the gods.
Good to see that you have accepted the fact that he equally prolific abroad as well as in the subcontinent,people have a short memory over a period of last 16 years he has won so many crunch games for India,biggest example being the triseries final against Australia in Sharjah where he first scored a century against the great ozzie attack and I remember ozzies saying that they did not lose to a better team but thet lost to a great player.
Thats just a coincidence,we won so many tournaments because of him,he might not have performed in the finals but we got in the finals in the first place because of him, we did not lose umpteen number of tests which were drawn from a losing position because of his batting,people have a short memory.
Tendulkar for Longevity and consistency, Lara for his heroic match winning ability. To me Lara still has the best batting action and stroke play of any Batsmen i have seen, by quite a large margin, oh that glorious backlift.
SACHIN TENDULKAR'S FAVOURITE BATSMAN IS BRIAN LARA................................lara is our favourite ,tendulkar favourite and favourite for all people...................................................................this is the word of indian god sachin tendulkar.
I like Tendulkar , obviously he is one of the greatest batsmen ever but what makes Lara better in my opinion is the fact that he would literally win matches on his own for W indies. He actually carried the entire team to wins. Sachin is the highest scorer which is magnificent but Lara is the most successful match winner and way more dangerous.
Sachin is the ultimate gentleman: a credit 2 his family and his country The Don didn't talk about Lara, the West Indies(70s&80s)or Steve Waugh;he admired Sachin's temprament ,his style and his gentlemanly conduct
@makilraj why you don't see the tonnes of expectations on him he single handed won a lot of matches for his country under huge pressure ,the lara admits that he will succumb to 1/10 of this pressure. there is only one cricket God - and that is Tendulkar
***** Style and Entertainment? ? Really? R u just being a hypocrite? Do u know the popularity of cricket before Sachin? Not just in India but the whole world. Sachin took cricket as an entertaining sport to a whole new level. Not that I'm speaking less of Lara. I love that guy but when it comes to entertainment, Sachin beats all. Anyway, it is kinda silly people like us arguing about who is great. This will actually never end.
***** stylish is sachin, and entertaining people sachin is great., both are similiar, i still remember in 1999s and 2000s crowed began to quite the stadium whenever sachin dismissed, and i saw lots of times that sachins fans down in to the crease and touched him whenever he got hundreds. he is not a player like dravid hanging there and playing, Sachin always attack the opposite bowlers. for shane warne, he was a nightmare.
Pradeep M what r u talking about..ask any legend of the game..they say Lara was better than Sachin in terms of technique and the range of shot selection
Panigrahi dharr chutiya h?? Lara better technique than Sachin?? Not even a noob with zero knowldege wud up wit that. Do u even what is technique? Lara was flamboyant, entertainer, destroyer u can say all that but better technique? Grow a brain
Strangely Lara had the most test runs in way less innings that Tendulker. And strangely enough Mcgrath and Murali both said that Lara was the best they ever bowled to. So......i guess they should know......right?
Also, the great cricket commentator and fact-man, Richie Benaud, had very nice things to say about Tendulkar (search for "Tendulkar is the best batsman since Bradman" on youtube). Now, I realise different people have different fav players, but it does no good to cricket and all the wonderful players out there to dis any one player. Why don't you just enjoy the game? That's what it's meant for!
Ask ANY non-Indian, who is your favorite batsmen between Lara and Sachin.. its Lara!! There is a reason for it, and perhaps an Indian would have to be born again somewhere else to understand it. nothing to take anything away from Sachin ...he is a super awesome batsman!!
That's because every non-Indian wants a player like Sachin in their team and since they cudn't find, they console themselves by considering Lara better where as Indians don't have to do that.. nothing to take anything away from Lara.. He is a super awesome batsman too!!!
rusty ryan Dude!! Why would non-Indians and non-West Indians prefer Lara than Sachin? most English, Aussie, kiwi, SL, SA etc fans I have met LOVED Lara, but respected Sachin [I do too].. and as per your enlightened theory its because they could not have a Sachin in their teams, so they consoled themselves to Lara?? Such a master in psychology analyst you are !!!
padmarley Don Bradman(the greatest ever batsman) regarded Sachin as the only one who is almost up-to his level in terms of batting and the best in the modern era...Viv Richards,Gary Sobers,Richard Hadlee,Dennis Lillee,Shane Warne -they all feel that Sachin is the 2nd greatest ever after Don Bradman.....I do not think those people are INDIANS!!....lol....Both are great but Sachin greater becoz of his consistency and also being more effective in ODI cricket....maybe people who hate India might end up hating Sachin...
Sachin is the combination of temperament and skill....Brian Lara is pure genius....there is no comparison between those two.....but if u ask me two choose one.....it's Lara....because he was entertaining....and one thing.....indian media n former players try to keep sachin up....good patriotic move....
lara and tendulakar are two the greatest batsman of the 21 century i don`t like it when u try to compare great players like that who gives a damn if tendulakar has more 100`s or lara has more scores over 200 it`s what they have brought to this beautiful game that counts in my view hell they both have respect of each other so why not have that same respect between viewers on youtube
sankar uit I like Tendulkar , obviously he is one of the greatest batsmen ever but what makes Lara better in my opinion is the fact that he would literally win matches on his own for W indies. He actually carried the entire team to wins on his own and make the score for most of his entire batting line up. Sachin is the highest scorer which is magnificent but Lara is the most successful match winner and the most dangerous batsman I have ever seen in my entire life once he gets going. His triple plus centuries and highest score records like 501* testify how difficult it is to take him out once he starts getting in his rhythm.
sankar uit I dont forget 51 test centuries, but that was because Tendulkar played many more matches and many in Asia. Lara and Tendulkar actually score test centuries at the same rate - about 6 innings per century - but Lara plays tougher opponents. Stats dont always tell the whle story; look at Kohli. Kohli has an amazing amount of centuries, but only six outside of Asia and only 2 of those vs good teams. Asian batsmen play so many innings on batting tracks. I actually think Lara is also a better ODI player than Tendulkar - and Tendulkar has the greatest ODI stats we have ever seen (only Viv and ABDV are comparable). But Lara averaged higher than Tendulkar in ODIs thoughout the 1990s, and I've never seen Tendulkar score ODI centuries vs Wasim and Donald. Lara then went down the order from 2001 onwards, where it's less easy to accumulate centuries. He then essentially became a T20 player, forced to slog with very few balls available. Whatever your opinions, at least we can agree that Lara, Waugh and Tendy were the greatest of the 1990s, and that all were radically different from one another, and great in different ways.
I just checked Lara and sachin averages in Test Matches in Australia and England, both places sachin has bette average, south africa both equal. So, I dnt knw from whee u r getting this information . Sachin average outside India is better than lara average outside WI
I agree,people talk a lot about that match a lot because on the eve of the match he said he was gonna target Sachin,which was a little over the line so partly he fueled the fire himself and sachin let his bat do all the talking.
@makilraj sachin without the so called domination nature has a much higher strike rate,is still playing and is at the peak even now unlike lara who suffered against quality pace like akhtar's towards the end of his career..and btw if u still hav doubts.ask lara himself who is better..
@MultiSazam and about the jury that has picked the side the world XI tht is they r ol great cricketers ol gr8 journalists covering the cricket action allo around the world for quite some time now..and brilliant thinker of the game ...u cant deny thr opinion AND perception......
According to stats yes it does but they are all class n from slight different eras some have played longer some less but they are all class and sachin is just a ledgend
managed to get well with Marshal , Walsh,Ambrose,Lilly,...Shane ' lee Macgratth Muralitaran..and too balling gaints with ease...and the beauty of batting is like a stroke of painting on canvas...his cover drives are like slicing cheese.....what a batsman and just rememb'r the years spent for cricket ...17 years...HOW ABOUT THAT HUH !!!!!!!
Why people comparing Sachin and lara? why not the thrid one? RIcky ponting, ? he is a great batsman, matchwinner, consistent, capable of winning both test matches and ODI ,T20 single handely
People require legends to be humble. Ponting' s straightforward attitude and speaking his mind evertime didn't help to get much fans. Otherwise the way he scored those double tons after tactically outsmarting the opponent, bowling them out for less than 200, was legendary. I don't think Sachin, Lara or anyone had that much impact on the game. Kallis, Richards and Kohli come close though.
@MultiSazam while warne who is the b8r of the two goes for sachin in tht regrd cos know tht sachin will do well against any kind of bowling attack consistently..more times than lara..lara can play one match winning knock once..but sachin is match maker and remember match winner win a team one match out of 5 or 8 but match maker makes every match a team wins..if ur team has to play a seires vs aussies in australia which player u choose..one who get 70 runs in each innings consistently or continu
hey hold on...just look at the physic of Lara and "LITTLE" Sachin ..even though he managed to get well with Marshal , Walsh,Ambrose,Lilly,...Shane ' lee Macgratth Muralitaran..and too balling gaints with ease...and the beauty of batting is like a stroke of painting on canvas...his cover drives are like slicing cheese.....what a batsman and just rememb'r the years spent for cricket ...17 years...HOW ABOUT THAT HUH !!!!!!!
@MultiSazam may i know ur age and country u come from dude and do tel me for how long hv u been following the cricket seems u got very lil knowledge of cricket and spclly batsmanship..do tell me haan...
@Thelifedelusion when did sachin say that murali is better bowler than warne. Also my comment was made because i don't consider murali a bowler. I mean the only way you can bowl a doosra and get it to turn as much as he does is if you arm is bent, try it!!
@makilraj WI cricket is in a state since Lara left! People don't even go to see them play,the stands are Empty! the Caribbean isn't that united,WI administrators,commentators like Holding,other islanders,etc...were very hostile to Lara throughout his career and eventually forced him out,for Gayle{who doesn't make squat!} all those dominating TEST runs were made under all that Hell{eg.poor facilities}.WI openers used to always out early& it was like Lara was always opening!
Also, you could claim that he didn't do it alone. And I have to say I can't remember a game by anyone where they did it single-handedly. Even the recent matches, Kallis needed support from the tail-enders who stepped up to the task. If the others don't support you, then you just cannot win a match. Cricket is primarily a team sport, this question of whether a single man can win the game for a team is a weird question to ask. We are looking for "personal heroes/gods" in a team sport.
@makilraj when Lara made most of those runs for Windies he was criticized for building big innings like the 400n.o but if he didn't score big and score fast, Windies would NOT have a good score becuz no else would make anything.If WI had even a harbajan singh at least, they would have won not only the 400 game but alot more. Adrian Barath, Lara's protege would probably be the next big batting star from WI and he's in for the same {losing game} hell!
@MultiSazam so dude i went into technicalities when u said i dont know abt he game.. go and have a look on both players in cricinfo's site innings by innings opponent by oppnent score by score ground by gorund..a bats man just not have to be natural like lara..but hardworking as sachin too.lar looks good when he plays his shots cos its unusual technique of his..but when actually have o depend than any one will chose sachin cos he got technique elegance, and needs not play a slotter even continue
No he's not. Both score a century every six innings, and 56 percent of Tendy's scores are below 40, whilst 54 percent of Lara's scores are below 40. Meanwhile, all Lara's big innings are vs good teams and strong bowling attacks, whilst Tendy goes big vs minnows or teams minus their key bowlers.
kshitiz06 For the entire 1990s, Lara averaged better than Tendulkar in ODIs. And, if you look at his whole career, he still averages better in ODIS batting 1,2 or 3. Lara's ODI form dropped because he batted down the order from 2001 onwards, because he has few not outs and because Tendulkar gets to play lots and lots of games in the subcontinent. Still, Tendy is statitically the best ODI player after Viv Richards (Kohli looks like he would catch up). I think if Lara had the ODI opportunities Tendulkar had, he would do better. I think he is simply the better batsman. By the way, I am not a Tendulker hater, he is my favourite Indian batsman after Gavaskar.
ERRATICCHEESE2 Being an Indian I loved Tendulkar more than Lara ............ but i will rate Lara slightly ahead of Sachin even sachin has more average ............. And these two still stand miles above than any player in the world except for Bradman.
ERRATICCHEESE2 Tendulkar does well against key bowlers too .......... but may not be as great as Lara !!!! He averaged around 60 playing against likes of Walsh and Ambrose in tests in West Indies . He did well against Warne and Muralitharan . He did well against Steyn and Morkel in South Africa .
ERRATICCHEESE2 "Tendulkar gets to play lots and lots of games in the subcontinent" , huh, what nonsense. Compare Lara and Tendulkar's averages in England (tendulkar 54.3 vs lara 48.7) and in Australia (tend 53.2 vs lara 41.9). I guess for you whole world is subcontinent.
here is answer for ppl whos is saying sachin is not match winner.... in different tournament finals sachin avg is 56 ..lara avg is just 28... see the stats before u talk....
