Sunday, January 28, 2007

Statsguru in Cricinfo

The site cricinfo has an interesting feature called statsguru. This allows us to view statistics of different players, grounds, etc using different filters. I decided to do a bit of research on the Indian team with statsguru, and here is what I found:

In general, the 4th innings of the test match is supposed to be the toughest of the match for a batsman, due to deteriorating pitch conditions. (Okay, agreed, this need not always be the case, but, thats usually what happens in tightly contested test matches). Here are some of the stats (as of today) of the key Indian batsmen, while playing overseas:

Sachin Tendulkar M-28; Avge- 31.13; C-1; H-2
Rahul Dravid M-23; Avge- 59.12; C-1; H-6
VVS Laxman M-16; Avge- 34.54; C-0; H-2
Saurav Ganguly M-20; Avge- 40.41; C-1; H-1
Virender Sehwag M-10; Avge- 24.57; C-0; H-1

Compare that with another all time Indian great
Sunil Gavaskar M-20; Avge- 72.21; C-4; H-5

And the Aussie powerhouse,
Ricky Ponting M-20; Avge- 62.15; C-3; H-1

Read as: M=Matches (where the team batted 4th), Avge = average in 4th Match Innings, C = centuries, H = half centuries


Well, well, Sachin or Sehwag hardly seem to be the crisis men to me. I would rather stick out with Dravid (and even Ganguly, with his "faulty" technique and all). But, possibly this underscores the value Sunil Gavaskar added to the Indian team.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree totally. I never thought I'd actually meet another Pratik Ray. I live in Minneapolis, am studying Chemical Engineering & Management, and I am an avid cricket fan. The similarities are uncanny.