SPORTS
A flamboyant batsman has just hit a double century against a resurgent New Zealand in Wellington.
Apart from 'resurgent', that sentence should hold no wonders. Surely it happens quite often that someone makes a double century in New Zealand against the home side?
But what is wondrous is Sunday featured Kumar Sangakkara's 11th double ton. He is now just one double ton behind the greatest batsman in the history of cricket, Sir Donald Bradman. Read that again.
Now consider this: No other batsman apart from the two mentioned above has scored more than 9 double centuries. Brian Lara, another all-time great, has 9. Walter Hammond has 7, and so does Mahela Jayawardene, who has now retired. Surprisingly, Marvan Attapatu has 6 and then, a whole line of greats the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Len Hutton, Ricky Ponting, Greg Chappell, etc follow. Surely that puts Sangakkara in the league of all times greats? No?
The Sri Lankan achieved yet another record on Sunday though. He became the fastest batsman to reach 12000 runs in Test cricket. He beat Sachin Tendulkar, no less, and he did it in 23 fewer innings than Tendulkar. Yet we are not convinced about Sangakkara.
Okay, so he averages 58.92 at the moment. That is the best batting average for anyone who has scored 5000 runs and whose name is not Donald Bradman. That average is unlikely to fall too far down even in case of a form slump, because Sangakkara has indicated he does not have too much time left in his illustrious career.
There are several factors that make for a great batsman. There is technique, and Sangakkara cannot be faulted for his. There is consistency over years. There is performance outside home turf and then there is performance against good opposition outside home turf.
How well does Sangakkara do on these parameters? If we are to consider the period from 2009 to 2014, here is a list of Sangakkara's yearly averages: 57, 99.28, 49.23, 51.13, 85.33, 71.90. That is six years of incredible consistency the likes of which even Tendulkar, Lara or Ponting could not achieve. In short, that is a six-year peak which has now entered its seventh.
Next come the away performances. From 2009 to 2014, Sangakkara averages 68.56 at home in Sri Lanka and 55.97 away. He has 22 scores over fifty in 49 innings at home and 16 scores over 50 in 35 innings away (including 7 centuries). Extremely impressive, again.
How are Sangakkara's performances against Australia, South Africa and England in their home countries over this period? The left-hander's performances in England and Australia make for good reading; in South Africa not so much. He has two centuries in England, though none in Australia (but a famous 192 in Australia came in 2007). He averages 52.60 in England and 50.66 in Australia. In South Africa, Sangakkara struggles, managing just 1 century in 6 innings for an average of 30. But then, the likes of Rahul Dravid struggled their entire careers in South Africa, which always remained a poor hunting ground for subcontinental batsmen. Even Tendulkar averaged just 36 there before his two centuries on the 2010-11 tour.
Nor did Kumar Sangakkara's average wither when he was captain. Over the 2009-14 period, when he has an overall average of 62.82, Sangakkara scored 1601 runs at 69.60 as captain. Lastly, the batsman's 2nd innings performances are a revelation. Eight of his 20 hundreds during the considered period have come in the second innings, with 7 coming in the 3rd match innings.
Note that here I have considered only the period from 2009 to 2014. This is because 2008 saw a relative slump in his form, with an average of 39.45. It could even be prudent to choose the period from 2006 onwards, which actually improves Sangakkara's statistics. That's a nine-year period of dominance, and we are into the tenth year now. Sanity dictates that no sportsman peaks for a decade. Sangakkara then, must have moved to a higher level of ability.
It has to be noted that Sangakkara played as a wicketkeeper-batsman for a lot of his career. His keeping certainly impacted his batting, as he averaged just 40.48 during the 2000-2008 period when he had to don the gloves. When his additional duties were taken away, Sangakkara flourished. It is incredible that the left-hander averages 69.85 when he did not keep wickets, with 31 centuries and 40 fifties in 143 innings - a 50-plus conversion rate of 50%! One wonders then, what could have been if Sangakkara had never kept wickets.
But there is one catch here - a lot of batsmen of the 2000s had the luxury of playing several matches against minnows Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, who in Test cricket are like lambs led to slaughter. When those two teams are taken out of the equation, Sangakkara's average falls to 54.09. His away average further falls to 48.09 from 55.97. How do two acclaimed greats of the era - Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara - fare without Zimbabwe and Bangladesh?
Brian Lara's average dimishes by just 0.35, falling to 52.53. He also averages 47.53 away from home. Statistics very similar to Sangakkara's. Tendulkar's average falls over two points from 53.78 to 51.01, yet his away average is higher than anyone else's - 52. Sangakkara also has 4 doubles against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, while Tendulkar has 2 and Lara, zero.
It must also be remembered that Zimbabwe were not minnows in the 1990s, that the Bangladesh Test team did not exist and that there was a line of great fast bowlers bowling on considerably more helpful wickets. In the decade of the 90s, Tendulkar averaged 57.95 overall and 56.63 away from home - the best of all. Lara: 51.60 overall and 44.68 away from home.
The last factor that goes against Sangakkara is his performance outside the subcontinent, if he is to be considered a great like Tendulkar. Tendulkar averaged 50.90 outside the subcontinent, excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, scoring 18 centuries. Lara though only averaged 48 for the West Indies outside the Caribbean, and this average was bloated by one series in Sri Lanka where he pillaged Muralitharan and Co for 688 runs in 3 games. He too, however, scored 16 centuries outside his home country. For Sangakkara however, the corresponding figures outside the Indian subcontinent are an average of 45 for just 7 out of his 38 centuries. He has also played just 34 of his 130 matches in this region, indicating that a huge number of games in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India may have improved Sangakkara's average by leaps and bounds.
Where then, does Sangakkara rank among the pantheon of greats of a generation? On statistics alone, he does not rank as the greatest despite his average and continuing brilliant form. But one could argue that Sangakkara does belong at the level of Tendulkar, Lara and Ponting, or perhaps Kallis and Dravid, because his performance as a pure batsman is incredible. His consistency is unbelievable and even at 37, a decline does not seem to be on the horizon. As the cricketing world gushes over AB DeVilliers, Hashim Amla, a newly resurgent Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and David Warner, Sangakkara unfairly slips into the shade. Wherever you place him in the pecking order of modern greats, it cannot be denied that the Sri Lankan No 3 deserves enormous acclaim for his achievements.
DNA TV Show: Why Election Commission changed Assembly by-elections' dates
Days after imposing fine on Anil Ambani, Sebi now issues Rs 130 crore demand notices to...
Thailand announces indefinite visa-free entry for Indian travellers
Meet daughter of billionaire, who studied in UK, now works in Rs 32770 crore Indian company as...
MUDA case: Lokayukta police summon Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for questioning on...
This city is 4000 years old, belongs to bronze age where 500 people lived, it is located in...
Kamala Harris has been the President of US before? Here's when and how
Meet son-in-law of billionaire whose net worth is Rs 38690 crore, he co-founded...
What is elimination inflammation diet that helped Vidya Balan lose weight?
Shah Rukh Khan feels breathless after quitting smoking: Know withdrawal symptoms, how to manage them
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal takes action on vendor for mislabelling mushrooms at Hyperpure warehouse
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance shares fell by 3%, loses Rs 50205 crore in one day due to...
IAF's MiG-29 crashes near Agra in Uttar Pradesh, pilot ejects safely, court of inquiry ordered
Driving Growth and Monetization at Zendesk: A Conversation with Darshit Thakkar
Can air pollution make you fat? Know how high AQI impact your health
Locanto Addresses Challenges and Innovations in Indian Education System
Nita Ambani stuns in floral co-ord set while Anant, Mukesh Ambani go casual in Dubai
Indian Railway to launch this 'SUPER APP', passengers can now..., know details here
Who is Rashmi Shukla, IPS officer whom EC removed as Maharashtra DGP?
This village in India allows men to have two wives, living under one roof due to…
AUS vs PAK, 1st ODI: Australia beat Pakistan by 2 wickets to take 1-0 lead in series
Singham Again’s sole aim is to entertain, it’s not Hindutva propaganda
Delhi pollution: 'Why firecracker ban was not implemented during Diwali,' SC asks police, govt
IPL 2025 mega auction likely to be held in Riyadh on these dates
Big update on Reliance Jio IPO as Mukesh Ambani eyes THIS date
EC reschedules UP, Punjab, Kerala bypolls from Nov 13 to...
Coldplay's Chris Martin falls through stage trap door while performing live in Australia
Meet man, who is rising star in Tata Group after Ratan Tata's death, now tasked with...
'Nice handwriting': Internet reacts to Elon Musk's physics homework from his college days
AIIMS INI CET 2025 admit card releasing today at aiimsexams.ac.in; when and how to download
Sustainability Meets Innovation via uPVC: Industry expert shares experience
Promoting innovation in engineering education
AP TET 2024 exam result declared at aptet.apcfss.in; steps to check
AI-Powered Development: Insights from industry leaders on transforming software engineering
Another BIG move by BSNL, now set to provide tough competition to Jio, Airtel, Vi by...
Uttarakhand Bus Accident: 36 dead after bus falls into gorge in Almora; rescue operations underway
Bigg Boss 18: Vivian D'Sena accuses Chahat Pandey of pooping on floor, latter loses her cool
One of India's best wicketkeepers set to retire after this season, won't play IPL too, he is...
Research shows awe-inspiring details about Black Holes, they can...
US Presidential Election 2024: Harris vs Trump goes down to the wire, say polls
AP TET 2024 exam result to be declared today on aptet.apcfss.in, when and how to check
Shampoo, tea, biscuits, oil to get costlier soon? FMCG firms caution price hike as...
Swiggy fined Rs 35000 for duping Hyderabad customer by doing THIS
Delhi pollution: Air quality in Delhi-NCR further deteriorates, AQI hits 'severe' level
Indian mission condemns attack on Hindu devotees at Canada temple by ‘anti-India’ elements
'Upar se leke neeche tak...': Bigg Boss 18's Kashish Kapoor, Eisha Singh get into ugly spat
Man grows 500 kg pumpkin, uses it as boat to sail 70 km, SEE PIC
Devotees at Banke Bihari Temple drink AC water believing it to be 'Charan Amrit'; WATCH viral video
Bank Holidays in November: Banks to remain closed for four days in THESE states, full list here
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3: Kartik Aaryan's mother struggles to get tickets, hilarious video goes viral
Mumbai Police arrest Maharashtra woman for hoax death threat to UP CM Yogi Adityanath
Kriti Sanon avoids posing with rumoured boyfriend Kabir Bahia at Mumbai airport, video goes viral
This is world's most expensive house, twice price of Mukesh Ambani's Antilia, it is located in...
SC to hear today Delhi govt's plea against vesting LG with power to appoint...
Viral video: Girl’s sizzling dance to ‘Taareefan’ song earns praise from netizens, watch
Watch: Elderly couple's heartwarming dance at Mohit Chauhan's Patna concert goes viral
This is India’s most expensive wedding card, made from real gold and silver, it costs Rs…