Teamwork, not Tendulkar

IT8217;S been 15 years since Sachin Tendulkar started his international career. The most common refrain heard since then is that India146...

IT8217;S been 15 years since Sachin Tendulkar started his international career. The most common refrain heard since then is that India8217;s is a one-man batting army. If Tendulkar does well, India win; if he doesn8217;t, India don8217;t. The truth of that argument remains open to debate but the box above right shows unequivocally that India8217;s five most memorable wins since the Kolkata Test against Australia have come about thanks to other players 8212; Sachin wasn8217;t Man of the Match in even one of them.

While there isn8217;t anything to separate Dravid and Tendulkar at the moment, Laxman8217;s consistency has been of a different kind. He has contributed heavily in almost every Test played in the past couple of seasons

It8217;s less controversial, and more acceptable, to say that Sachin in flow is among the sport8217;s more pleasing sights, usually enough to demolish any bowling anywhere, and that his wicket remains one of the most prized for any bowler.

However, he is not India8217;s lone performer, and Rahul Dravid8217;s fluent, facile double century at Motera, and India8217;s posting of 500 despite Sachin failing with the bat, offer further proof in support of that fact. Match-winning apart, in terms of sheer run-scoring and consistency, Dravid has caught up with Tendulkar over the past couple of seasons as far as Test averages go see chart while Saurav Ganguly and, most emphatically, VVS Laxman have made their presence felt.

Even if we leave out the ongoing Test match, the statistics show how India has played in a variety of conditions over the last couple of seasons and all four of them have done well on a number of occasions. Also, as the figures will show, while Tendulkar has continued to maintain his standards, Dravid and Laxman have managed to up their game significantly.

nbsp;	5 recent wins and the men who mattered

		nbsp;	8226; 2001 Kolkata vs Australia India win by 171 runs Man of the match: VVS Laxman 59, 281 8226; 2001 Chennai vs Australia India win by two wickets Men of the match: Matthew Hayden and Harbhajan Singh 7/133, 8/84 8226; 2002 Kandy vs Sri Lanka India win by 7 wickets Man of the match: Saurav Ganguly 18, 98 8226; 2002 Port of Spain vs WI India win by 37 runs Man of the match: VVS Laxman 69, 74 8226; 2002 Leeds vs England India win by an innings and 46 runs Man of the match: Rahul Dravid 148.	nbsp;

And the statistical difference between Dravid and Tendulkar has diminished to the point where it barely exists.

Over the last 20 Tests, spread over eight series, Tendulkar has scored at 57.40, almost identical to his career average of 57.58. Meanwhile, Dravid has batted at 56.00, higher than his career average of 53.46 and Laxman, unbelievably, has scored at almost 50, nine points higher than his career average.

What these figures don8217;t show is equally important. That Dravid and Laxman, having scored at significantly higher rates than before, have dragged their career run rates up. Their averages before the last 20 Tests were even lower than their career averages are currently.

While there isn8217;t anything to separate Dravid and Tendulkar at the moment, Laxman8217;s consistency has been of a different kind. While not playing massively significant roles in winning matches since the magic Kolkata Test in March 2001, Laxman has managed to score substantially in practically every Test match played over the past couple of seasons.

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Ganguly8217;s case, again, is a tad different. He hasn8217;t been consistent. But he has managed to showcase his talent on occasions when the team has required it the most 8211; especially in West Indies and England. He hasn8217;t won matches, but he8217;s stood up when needed.

HOW THEY FARED IN THE LAST 20 TESTS
nbsp;	Runs	HS	Avg	100s	50s	C.Avg
TENDULKAR	1722	193	57.40	5	7	57.58
DRAVID	1568	217	56.00	5	7	53.46
LAXMAN	1249	154	49.96	2	7	41.33
GANGULY	1059	136	39.22	2	5	40.59

Going through the statistics for Tendulkar, we find that he last won India a Test in 1997-98 against Australia in Chennai. Not just that Test the first of the series, but in the whole series, Tendulkar was the major difference between the two sides. Since then, he8217;s played stellar roles in a number of match-winning or match-saving Indian efforts, but never to the extent of being singled out as the most important man responsible for the result.

This is not to say that Tendulkar is a lesser player today than he was before. This is also not to say that the others can match his sheer destructive qualities.

Simply to say that those who have long sought reinforcements for India8217;s leading batsman can sleep easy: The reinforcements are here, ready to take over the show.