Sachin Tendulkar Vs Brian Lara - Who Truly Rules The Game?👀🍿| Bumble & Kimber

[@seanmcbride1]

What the hell is consistent, saying Tendulkar was consistent is like saying Jordan was consistent, Muhammad Ali was consistent, well they were all consistently genius throughout their careers. I love Lara, he was brilliant and I hate to compare him with Tendulkar, but when even Lara says that Tendulkar was a notch above it means something, and he said it not out of humility, even though he's very humble, but because Lara understands what Tendulkar did in both forms of the game for as long as he did sets the God of Cricket apart from the rest. Tendulkar had one of the most astonishing run of form post the age of 34, the first man to hit double century in ODI CRICKET against Steyn and co. no less, he scored it at the age of 37, most Cricketers and sportsperson are either retired or well past their best days by that age. Between the age of 33 and 38 he averaged 70 against Australia in their own backyard. Need I say more. Yes visually Lara was a delight to watch but left handers are always a delight to watch, Tendulkar played Text book straight drives and back foot off side punches, nobody played better than Tendulkar when he was in the mood, and he was in the mood every time he went out to bat, during the 90s I had predicted no less than 65 test hundreds for Tendulkar, back then he was scoring a hundred every third match, in the end he finished with 51 Test hundreds 14 short of what I had hoped and predicted, but then that damn tennis elbow injury ruined things and Tendulkar became a tad less aggressive in his batting approach and style, but his hunger for scoring runs never diminished. True God of Cricket.

[@arjunghose2868]

My friend if you add all the 90s he scored and got out due to Bucknor , your prediction and the actuals will get pretty close :P. Not only that Tennis Elbow , there was also that back injury in 1999 Chennai which curbed his front foot pull to fast bowlers of the stands, which we saw plenty of during the 1998 series against Australia both at home and in Sharjah.

[@seanmcbride1]

@@arjunghose2868 I remember every little detail of Tendulkar's career, yes that Chennai innings against Pakistan, battling that lower back injury and a Salain Mushtaq at the height of his powers, that's one of Tendulkar's greatest ever hundreds, even though he fell just before the finishing line, it was a great Test hundred, our toothless lower order true to their form capitulated without a fight, damn Mongia tried to steal Tendulkar's glory by going for that reckless shot which resulted in his demise, till that time the game was in India's pocket. Tendulkar later played another innings at the same ground against England right after the Mumbai attacks, and this time he took us home, that was a great hundred in a chase, gives me goosebumps just thinking about the emotion felt by us Indians on that day. I so wish Tendulkar had played with the same attacking intent that he used to do in the 90s, but then he was contemplating retiring from the game at one point of time, post that time period the rest of his career was a bonus, so not going to be too greedy. For those who compare Tendulkar with people like Kohli well that's fine, these people can tell me about likes of Kohli etc facing Walsh, Donald, Ambrose, Akram, Pollock, McGrath, Gillespie, Fleming, Warne, Saqlain, Murlitharan.

[@arjunghose2868]

@@seanmcbride1 Well said mate ,seems my exact words .I couldn't have summed it up better.That 136 has to be in the wisden top 10.I have not seen any better fourth innings batting against such a difficult bowling attack on a crumbling pitch.

[@seanmcbride1]

@@arjunghose2868 My dream was to see India win the World Cup once in my life time, and to see Tendulkar hold the trophy, both fortunately turned into reality, we could have won the World Cup again last year, if only we had shown a little more attacking intent instead of freezing in the big moment, the fact that we easily beat Australia in the earlier match made us a bit lazy, as soon as Rohit fell, the entire batting line up went inside their shell, and we could never recover. A great opportunity lost otherwise we could've been current ODI, T20 World Cup champs. Cheers.

[@mayankdewli1010]

Sachin was like Babar ..an accumulator of runs .but Lara was like Rohit . .a genius

[@larrygerry985]

Lara was beautiful to watch, Tendulkar was consistent.

[@chandramohanbisht7316]

To me Sachin's strokeplay was much much much more beautiful to watch.

[@bencross4098]

@@chandramohanbisht7316 This is an interesting point. It's strange that we speak of Lara as more beautiful to watch when Tendulkar was the one with the textbook technique. Lara, by contrast, was more unorthodox and would sometimes play shots that might look conventionally ugly. Perhaps Lara's reputation as a batting artist might have something to do with his placement. I can't think of any batsman who looked more like he was intentionally consciously steering the ball into gaps, rather than merely playing good shots like in the nets.

[@mayankdewli1010]

Nope. Sachin was very limited. Lara was a genius ​@@chandramohanbisht7316

[@mayankdewli1010]

​@@chandramohanbisht7316not really.

[@juanestadian8471]

@larrygerry985 you don't average 53 like Brian Lara being inconsistent

[@Yah16786Ahmed]

Bradman praised three batters durimg his lifetime.(in terms of natural ability). 1.Gary sobers 2.G pollock 3.Sachin Tendulkar. Shane warne said once about best batters he bowled 1.Sachin 2.Daylight 3 .Brian lara Cricket is boring without cricketers like Sachin ,these days.

[@Yah16786Ahmed]

Sachin had more range of strokes than Lara.

[@eightyseven3113]

You forgot what he said about Stan McCabe.

[@saadparekh]

The Shane Warne comment was specifically about ODI cricket and didn't mention Lara at all. The actual quote went in like "In ODIs it is Tendulkar, daylight, then everyone else"

[@Yah16786Ahmed]

​@@saadparekh I don't miss players like Lara or Ponting or Kallis. I miss players like Sachin and ABD ,both were from diff planet. Mind u ,i have seen Shewag 300, Lara 400 ,Gilchrist fast hundreds as well.,in test cricket. Cricket is boring without players like Sachin and ABD.

[@kerrybuns5892]

Lara use to slap warne all over the place 😂😂😂 of course he didn’t like Lara

[@jjs69544]

Lara has 53 centuries. Sachin has 100. Moving on.

[@jjs69544]

@@mahinpatel6832 fcking retrd, Sachin literally has better avgs than Lara in both tests and ODIs. Moron.🤓😂.

[@jjs69544]

@@mahinpatel6832 Sachin has better avgs than Lara in both tests and ODIs, u nmrd.🤓😂

[@mayankdewli1010]

No one cares about Odis. So you can remove 50. And then remove 10 hundreds sachin scored against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. And we're on even terms. Then you consider how Sachin batted on flat Indian pitches and failed miserably in fourth innings everytime even getting out to spinners like afridi panesar mendis etc

[@abhijitkulkarni7994]

@@mayankdewli1010 Sachin averaged as much abroad than at home. Lara 47 abroad to 58 at home. lara failed in India and vs India in general. Lara averaged less than sachin in 4th innings. so he was a mega miserable failure?

[@mayankdewli1010]

​@@abhijitkulkarni7994Sachin played on flatter pitches. West Indies pitches are more difficult to bat on. Sachin struggled in difficult conditions.

[@zubinix]

Lara and Tendulkar, two sides of brilliance. Lara played some fantastic innings but Sachin had complete batting mastery.

[@alexanderviolette5764]

I'm going Sachin. End of the day if the goal is to win nobody is going to know if Lara is on his best day or not. But I'm not a gambler at heart, so I'd rather have Sachin put on a master class of the correct shots and give the team around him the confidence to depend on him.

[@dudefromcbee]

This best day or not is over exaggerated to the core. Sachin post 2011 wasn't at his best. Since it was Sachin, the long rope he had and not so much criticism he deserved.

[@dbcoolguy90]

Sachin is the GOAT !!!! Brian is close . But not enough . Adaptability and longevity of Sachin was something else .

[@Robc--jd6yh]

Lara easily for me. His peak much better.

[@Necromancer189]

If I equate it in football terms Lara is R9, the wizard. The innings he can play well. But Sachin is C7 in terms of hard work and longevity. Both are different player. When qn is asked who is the greatest? My qn is what is the context, do we have a follow on? do we need someone to save test? or do we want someone to with an all round performance?

[@manisshthakur621]

Sachin Tendulkar has the best cricketing career of all time when you analyze his longevity, consistency, and impact. He also took almost 200 wickets in international cricket. He won the Player of the Tournament award in the World Cup and also won the World Cup trophy. However, I do agree that Brian Lara, especially at his peak in Test cricket, was slightly better than him.

[@Alunticstalkedme4072]

Sachin played for too many years just furcrecirds.

[@sbasu4748]

Sachin was a GREAT batsman against MEDIOCRE bowling. Sachin was a MEDIOCRE batsman against GREAT bowling.

[@jaxcs2515]

Tendulkar in his pomp from 1996-2003, was a pure delight. Attacking, asthetically pleasing to watch, edge of the seat batting. No one compares to Tendulkar from asthetic point of view in his Pomp. However Lara batted in a similiar aggressive exciting manner throughout his career, where as Tendulkar through most of his last 10 years in Test cricket became more of a accumaltor, baring couple of years in 2010 2009.

[@mayankdewli1010]

In flat odi pitches maybe. Lara didn't care about Odis. Test cricket is real cricket and Lara was a genius in test cricket

[@manishsaran4969]

​@@mayankdewli1010lara was not the man of consistency. He was a beast on flat tracks but when there is spin or bounce lara got out cheaply. On the other hand Sachin was consistent and very good at spin , Swing, and bounce .literally had no weakness

[@mayankdewli1010]

​@@manishsaran4969yup that is why Sachin scored 10 hundreds against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh while Lara scored double hundreds against eng sa aus sl Pakistan

[@arjunghose2868]

@@mayankdewli1010 Yup thats why even after deducting those 10 centuries against bangladesh and zimbabwe the total number of centuries from Tendulkar is greater than all the centuries scored by lara 🤣🤣🤣

[@dudefromcbee]

​@@arjunghose2868You should also consider the number of matches they played... That's the biggest difference.

[@Dhruv-Malik]

I mean Bradman himself said Tendulkar bats like him

[@wildbaron1234]

This conversation could only happen years after Sachin retired and enough time had passed. If this happened sooner, the answer is unequivocally Sachin.

[@sagarsaxena6318]

On this debate it's very hard to agree that Sachin couldn't change a match on it's head. His first 100 in Australia,on the famously fast pitch at Perth came at a very high strike rate. There are so many knocks in the 90s where he single-handedly carried the batting order,many times to victory. The twin "desert storm" knocks are a case in point. In Tests also he was a very attacking batsman & only in later years he slowed down since Sehwag would destroy the opposition for days at the top.

[@saadparekh]

This discussion implies that Tendulkar wasnt capable of Lara-esque flamboyance. However I would argue that if Tendulkar wanted to take opposition down he could easily do that. As shown by his much superior ODI record. However, in tests the effect of both of theirs training in formative years shows. Tendulkar graduated form mumbai school of responsible batting, where you put a high price on your wicket and never throw away your wicket chasing runs. Lara on the other hand grew up watching very dominant WI side and had likes of Viv Richards mentoring him. Hence, Tendulkar chose to bat well within himself in tests while Lara thrived on dominating opposition. The nature of limited overs cricket allowed Tendulkar to unlesh his full abilities. Hence i would argue to truely appreciate Tendulkars abilities you have to look at his ODI game and not just tests.

[@utkarsh80587]

Sachin had some real bad luck with injuries in the middle of his career too . The darned back injury came in 99 when he was playing a masterclass innings against Pak. The injury ended Sachin’s greatest season of 98. This injury changed his game a lot. The frequency at which he would hit spinners for six, play the overhead pull shots etc was reduced. That was followed by the shoulder and tennis elbow in 2005. It’s another aspect of Sachin’s greatness he dominated world cricket despite of all these injuries and had a second peak between 2005-2011 (till the WC win). Lara, I’m sure had his share of injuries too and a hepatitis infection. But I doubt if he ever had a career threatening injury like Sachin did (but I could be wrong).

[@mayankdewli1010]

Yes Sachin wasn't capable of Lara esque flamboyance especially against top bowlers like McGrath murli waqar wasim Donald etc. But he was consistent. Kind of like babar azom. Lara was more like Rohit Sharma

[@utkarsh80587]

@@mayankdewli1010 You really need to watch more cricket before comparing SRT to a player like Babar Azam. Its entirely possible that Lara may have had an edge when it came to aggression, that doesn;t mean Tendulkar wasn;t aggressive or flamboyant. He would not have been an ODI opener for so long if he wasn;t. SRT was the player the team would look up to when it came to take on the best opposition bowlers for most of his career. He had to reinvent his game because of injuries and become less aggressive but he was always very effective. There are serious debates about any modern era batsman being close to Tendulkar (including King Kohli), Babar Azam doesn't come even close.

[@utkarsh80587]

@@mayankdewli1010 Did you really just compare Tendulkar to Babar Azam? You really need to watch more cricket. Lara may have been a little more aggressive but Tendulkar wouldn’t have been considered one of the best ODI openers if he wasn’t flamboyant. He was the batsman India looked up to most of the time when it came to neutralize best bowlers in the opposition. He would look to attack in many situations where others would block. He had to curb the he aggression due to injuries (and at times the match situation). There are serious debates if players like Root and Kohli can stand up to Tendulkar. Babar Azam doesn’t make the list by a long shot.

[@mayankdewli1010]

​@@utkarsh80587yes Sachin was a stat padder like Babar. Lara was a genius like Rohit

[@Notraj15]

Like Sachin is accused of being overrated by his billion die hard fans(including me), I would say Lara is overrated by some really good friends he’s made in England. Both great batsmen and great personalities.

[@ManasPandey-wf4xw]

Sachin has always been a easy target of bashing by so called cricket experts over the years. Earlier in 90s Imran Khan rated Inzamam over Tendulkar. Then in 2000s they rated Lara over him. Then in 2010s they put Ponting over him. Even now after 10 years of his retirement he's still being compared from guys like Kohli , Root etc. One thing is common that every great player is compared with Tendulkar which tells about the position that Tendulkar holds.

[@Fanofzimbabar]

@@ManasPandey-wf4xw nobody compared root with sachin

[@ManasPandey-wf4xw]

@@Fanofzimbabar If root breaks sachin's record then the English media would definitely rate root as the greatest cricketer of all time

[@Fanofzimbabar]

@@ManasPandey-wf4xw Greatest test cricketer*

[@NitishR14]

No one compared Ponting with Tendulkar in the 2010s. Ponting was by far the best batsman of the 2000s. Ponting's slump came around 2009 and his average dipped to 52 from a staggering 60.

[@shantanumishra8070]

Sachin scored runs everywhere, far more consistent and he was twice the batter Lara was in ODIs Statistically and in big games too...

[@nerdfragger]

ODIs Lara was a great ODI player, Tendulkar is the GOAT. Playing in a similar era, Tendulkar was ahead in average (45 vs 41) and much ahead in strike rate (87 vs 80). Now i see a lot of ridiculous comments saying Lara didnt take ODIs seriously - well Lara played ODIs for 17 years, one year more than he played tests, and he played around 300 ODIs, Lara is in the list of top 25 when it comes to most ODI games played so lets leave this stupid excuse aside. In ODIs, Tendulkar bested Lara easily, be it highest scores, average, SR, Player of Match awards, performance in world cups. I would pick Tendulkar over Lara anyday in any circumstances to win me an ODI game. Tests : I would rate Lara above Tendulkar for his ability to win games for the team in crunch situations. While i found Tendulkar's batting to be as beautiful as Lara's (its an individual choice anyway), Lara could play with the middle order and the tail and take the game deep and win. As such, i think Lara handled match pressure better than Tendulkar. Lara also could play bigger innings - Tendulkar somehow seemed to get bored around the 130-150 mark. Lara has played 70 less tests than Tendulkar but still has more double hundreds, not to mention 2 triples to Sachin's 0 triples. Lara also has just 2 player of match less than Sachin despite playing much lesser games. One area where Tendulkar was better was that he averaged above 40 in tests in all countries and above 45 in all except 2 and above 50 in 5 out of 10 countries he played tests in. Now, Lara averages mid 30s in 2, above 50 in 3 out of 10. Tendulkar also averages above 40 vs all opponents while Lara's average vs India is also mid 30s. Kind of shows Lara's record in India and vs India as below average, suspect against spin on spinning tracks? Not sure. He was a genius player of spin. In short, if i have to pick 1 player to win a test match for me in impossible circumstances against top bowling, esp fast bowling, i will pick Lara. If i have to win 10 tests in all countries and vs all opponents, I will pick Tendulkar. Both are batting geniuses.

[@Manishnishad007]

Test cricket is real and pure cricket Lara wins by country mile

[@utsav52]

That way kallis and sangakara both are better batsmen than Sachin in tests

[@vaibhavmishra8389]

If lara was so flamboyant and can hit same ball to 4 different areas why he has strike rate of 79 in odi

[@silviodante3950]

😢😢😢

[@bencross4098]

Fair question. But as Kimber acknowledges, Tendulkar's ODI record is considerably superior to Lara's, perhaps partly because - as Kimber also notes - Lara never seemed to put as much into ODIs as test matches. In test cricket, Lara's strike rate was 60.51, whereas Tendulkar's is estimated to be around 54. I don't think anyone who watched both Lara and Tendulkar would deny that Lara was more flamboyant, including those who hold that Tendulkar was clearly the superior batsman overall.

[@thiefoftomorrow]

Tendulkar played in the power play . Bigger difference back then

[@musharafhussain2316]

Fielding restrictions.

[@ASHISHMISHRA-qd5sz]

@@bencross4098 and how do you know that lara didnt put that much into odis what is the proof ther just because he was poor in odis than tendulkar you are making things up. is there any way you can prove this dont try to hidw away the failings of lara as an odi batsman compared to sachin by these nonsense statements

[@ICT0708]

Both had different styles of play. Lara was more flamboyant, stylish and may be more talented. But no one comes close to Sachin in terms of consistency, longevity and playing under pressure. To play for 24 years and for your peak years to know that I get out and the country switches the TV off. The opponent thinks I get out and they have won. And to deliver under that pressure consistently will rank higher than anything else for me.

[@stevennorris7181]

Lara=Federer, Sachin=Djokovic

[@indiasportscentre]

While Brian Lara was undoubtedly eye-catching on the field, Sachin Tendulkar's longevity and ability to perform under the immense pressure of a billion people set him apart. Moreover, given that India's bowling and batting lineup in the 90s was often subpar, Tendulkar's consistent performances are even more remarkable. Taking everything into account, Sachin Tendulkar stands out as the better batsman compared to Lara

[@trl768]

Sachin is the GOAT for me but I can’t deny that what Jarrod said. On sheer talent alone, Lara was better. But talent is not everything. Consistency is more important and that’s why Sachin is the GOAT for me.

[@chandramohanbisht7316]

Talent wise also Sachin was superior. How can we say that Lara was more talented if he could not perform up to his Test standards in ODI's??

[@dushyantchaudhry4654]

After so many matches and a visibly superior average overseas (53 in australia versus 42 for Lara) I think personal opinions about level of talent are just that.

[@suchith9327]

No infact talent wise sachin is superior . Technique of sachin was classic than lara . Secondly sachin defence was best than lara . Only difference is the team . Sachin had some great legends alongside like dravid and Ganguly but lara did not have that support . 😊

[@manisshthakur621]

Sachin Tendulkar has the best cricketing career of all time when you analyze his longevity, consistency, and impact. He also took almost 200 wickets in international cricket. He won the Player of the Tournament award in the World Cup and also won the World Cup trophy. However, I do agree that Brian Lara, especially at his peak in Test cricket, was slightly better than him.

[@vnanjun1]

Coach Bill Parcells, 2 time super bowl champion, used to tell his players "your potential will get me fired". Talent is useless, it's all about delivering results

[@DivG23]

Lara is an artist and Sachin is a technician???? Sachin is poetry in motion. I love Lara and I think there has been no one who can be compared to him. But no way, you can compare this stuff. If Lara batted for 24 years, then it would have been a fair comparison. Sachin changed his game a lot over the years. In terms of raw talent, I want to say Lara but I just can’t and do a huge disservice to these giants of the sport. 2 of the best the sport has ever produced (never saw Sir Don, so can’t comment). Other than that no one is even close.

[@Queenbeach-n8h]

Lara is artistic way above than anyone. Let alone our Sachin. You need to know how beautiful cricket is played. Gather the Champions Trophy held in India where Windies won. You can see how Sachin struggled to play good turning balls. Artistic Lara showed who is the boss of Cricket.

[@varunshrivastav]

Talent is not everything it’s consistency and longevity that makes you a great if talent decided who was better..than Rohit sharma would’ve been the best batter of this generation ahead of Virat kohli as he was almost a god gifted talent but that’s not how it works after 15-20years people won’t remember who was more talented but they will remember the Impact, records and consistency where Sachin is miles ahead of Lara.

[@Ramiperera]

Noway that Rohit could have been the best batter! He has many technical flaws to be considered anywhere near even modern greats in Test cricket. In ODIs possibly but Kolhi is more talented even for ODIs as its not just shots his temperament and everything

[@varunshrivastav]

@@Ramiperera It’s not talent for Kohli the temperament you’re talking about came from years of hardwork and dedication he has trained himself that way his hunger towards being a better version of himself is next to none whatever kohli achieved in his career is because of his sheer extraordinary will to do something more which no other batter in this era had that is why he is the greatest.

[@kingboruto6973]

​@@RamipereraLol rohit has 10,000 runs in odi he is goat ​

[@johnbattersby8639]

Kallis, with a higher average than all of them, has entered the chat.

[@rahulsingh9966]

​@@varunshrivastav nice Kohli is the greatest ❤

[@pratiknangare2370]

Sachin is way better than any better in history of cricket....the way he single handedly carried billions of people's hopes with both formats ..is unimaginable....The Master of Cricket 🏏

[@kiriakoz]

I didn't know he had a gambling problem, good to know.

[@Warlock786]

No one gives a shit about Hopes. SACHIN isn't even in top 5

[@iandavies6474]

No

[@rrao7963]

​@@iandavies6474Steve Waugh real champion under pressure I consider him the best

[@manisshthakur621]

Sachin Tendulkar has the best cricketing career of all time when you analyze his longevity, consistency, and impact. He also took almost 200 wickets in international cricket. He won the Player of the Tournament award in the World Cup and also won the World Cup trophy. However, I do agree that Brian Lara, especially at his peak in Test cricket, was slightly better than him.

[@arijitbanik7597]

Fair comments from Bumble and Kimber who will naturally view things from English and Aussie lenses. It is underappreciated how much pressure Tendulkar was under during his career. It is also underappreciated how much of a wizard Lara was when he on on form. Lara's lowest average was against India (34.55 over 17 innings). I think Indians would view him more favourably if he had played more against India. His highest scores against Australia and England were 277 and 400 respectively, with averages of 51 and 62.14 against those nations. Tendulkar's lowest average was against arch rival Pakistan (42.28 over 27 innings). Sachin's highest scores against Australia and England were 241 and 193 respectively, with averages of 55 and 51.73 against those nations. It is a testament to Sachin's tenacity that he adjusted his game over time. He eschewed flamboyance in favour of technique as he got older and his back problems persisted. Lara - with his exaggerated backlift -- batted as if he was conducting a symphony. They were both brilliant in their own way.

[@Manishnishad007]

All irrelevant , pressure is face by everyone international cricketer , repressing there nation if you are Aussies cricketer if you fail no matter how big are you , you will be dropped and possibly for years

[@Present4]

Lara's ceiling was higher than Sachin's. When he was on, no one could come close. Tendulkar is a coach's dream tho.

[@chandramohanbisht7316]

By those standards Sehwag's ceiling was also higher... But that doesn't make him a better batsman than Sachin

[@Manishnishad007]

@@chandramohanbisht7316shewag test is average is mediocre , way below grame smith and cook , cook is better than Tendulkar and Lara is way above him in test cricket , Lara scored 300 in aus and sa , sa couldn’t play in eng , sa nz

[@vantheman1238]

Good comment

[@Albetroz1415]

For me it has to be Keaton Jennings, greatest of all time.

[@ce11amitkumaryadav83]

Rory burns Sibley Hameed My all time top 3 best players Keaton will be 4th

[@ananthkamath3478]

Courtney Walsh?😅

[@prithviroy11]

@@ce11amitkumaryadav83 I would put Declan Rice above them, his footwork in Germany was class this summer.

[@andrewfleming2892]

While we talk about Lara's peaks, he is ranked third behind only Bradman and Headley in terms of percentage of teams runs in Test history, Tendulkar isn't ranked inside the top fifty in this statistic, highlights the differences between Indian and West Indian sides of that generation

[@tamilplasma-kf6mx]

Sachin alone scored 33k runs

[@DanTendulkar]

Sachin was something else. The greatest batter our times.

[@prasadbmvs]

Sachin is more consistent is very underrated statement. These discussions are like Sachin not aggressive and not attacking. Watching sachin batting is splendid in both tests and ODIs. How vintage tendulkar is the world knows. If lara didnt focused on ODIs is acceptable then only because of spine and tennis elbow injury sachin tamed down himself is equivocal. Otherwise he is even more aggressive in batting. The way he adopts to conditions pitches flat, seaming, bouncy, slow , spin and uneven bouncy tracks and making centuries- if not most prolific test batsmen who else. I feel Sachin has become a soft target. These people trying to fit sachin in the only box of consistent.

[@nikunjdixit1175]

Across formats, its kind of a no brainer that Sachin was better. Lara was beautiful to watch, but consistency across conditions, across oppositions, and across formats has to count for the most and no doubt Sachin had a leg up over Lara on those parameters.

[@nitpro]

Just the pressure Sachin used to handle. No one could have performed for such a long time...

[@malhotrafullly]

Tendulkar was a very aggressive batsman in his pomp. He didn't have the calypso flourish of the blade but he had an astonishing good technique jaw dropping in its own right. Difficult to admire consistency looking back, it's something you marvel at in real time.

[@craighedges6620]

As a kid watching cricket in the 90s, I always had the feeling we couldn't win because of Lara, for all his grace and consistency as a batsmen Tendulkar was never feared in the same way.

[@harisht45]

You childhood might be after 2010

[@whitesimurgh6363]

I agree.. Lara was way ahead of him

[@alisterjohn1652]

U feared because in west indies there bowling is superior then india. So whatever runs lara made looks enough for there bowlers not in the case of Sachin. Whole line up till 2001 was dependent on just Sachin

[@mayankdewli1010]

Correct. Tendulkar was the babar azam of his era. Consistent but never threatening

[@foodsafari-rj3uq]

@@mayankdewli1010 Babar is not even consistent lol. He just had a brief period of consistency.

[@AkshayKumar-gp7lk]

Lara was more of delight to watch for true test cricket lovers...but comparison is so unfair with Sachin. Sachin with his professionalism, consistency, and his longevity (esp. with the team India had especially in 90s). Lara may not even survive 10 years in cricket if he played in pressure that Sachin played under (especially in 90s).

[@theena]

This was made for those of us who watched cricket in the 90s. Personally, Lara. Any day of the week. In no way am I diminishing Sachin by saying that. It's just that Lara - along with VVS Laxman and Damien Martyn - are the three most aesthetically pleasing, beautiful batters I've seen in my 30 years of watching this game. There are batters who have scored more runs, were more consistent, could rip a bowling attack more forcefully, but those three, and especially Brian Charles Lara, would reduce me to tears of joy. And as a Sri Lankan, I can tell you no visiting player has batted better in our conditions than Lara did in his 2001 tour. 688 runs in 6 innings, against Murali and Vaas in their prime. I have never seen Murali and Vaas and the entire Lankan team be as devoid of ideas in our own backyard as Lara made them look. I have never seen better batting against spin than Lara going against Murali in that series. The cat and mouse was central battle in that series, and almost always Lara won it. Over by over, session by session, Murali kept challenging him to hit through an open mid-wicket, against vicious turn; Lara accepted the invitation every time. There'd be sweeps, there'd be flicks, there'd be on-drives, sometimes when he was bored, he would come down the track to a ball pitching outside leg, and hit it anywhere between point and mid-off. It was ridiculous to watch. You could tell even the Lankan team were hypnotized by what Lara was doing. There'd be open gawking, smilies, and often gazing into the sky looking for divine intervention. Years later, Sangakkara would say that to do it once is luck, a couple of times, probably skill, but to do it repeatedly to Murali for an entire series on pitches that were made for the off-spinner? Genius. Nothing less.

[@yashsingh1631]

U are talking about aesthetic so fair enough. Stats wise Sachin is better but liking doesn't depend on stats. Like bumrah is mych better bowler than Bhuvneshwar but Bhuvneshwar is still my fvrt

[@jetpark3743]

Tendulkar is genius even Lara

[@jetpark3743]

Rohit sharma is more talented than Lara

[@Ramiperera]

@@jetpark3743 I guess you are Indian but don't show your stupidity lol

[@utsavchakraborty2381]

I think Bumble or Jarrod doesn't know how destructive Sachin was in his prime! They have this Lara bias! The averages, strike rates doesn't even come close. Lara's record in India is pathetic to say the least. Lara never dominated World Cups like Sachin did. They just doesn't want to accept that Sachin was always better. Lara was not even close to Tendulkar in ODIs, lot better in Tests, but inconsistent. Don't give this crap Bumble. Tendulkar changed the definition of cricket, change the way cricket was played. Watch the Sharjah innings if you haven't or the innings in Hyderabad against the same opponent 11 years later!

[@rohansinha9737]

Sachin was the benchmark of batting over 2 decades . And he did in a country of cricket crazy people who wanted him to score centuries every time he batted. Just imagine the burden of a billion hopes on your shoulder everytime you go out to bat knowing very well that the team depends on you . He averaged what he managed even after all this, many a times sacrificing an aggressive style of play which he occasionally showcased he was capable of. It took the same old Sachin to break the 200 run barrier in odis despite many explosive batters not able to come closer. Comparing him to another batter makes no sense if you don't consider all of this.

[@abhijitkulkarni7994]

Lara didn't care much about ODIs is an absolute rubbish excuse. He did care about ODIs, which is why he did so well in ODIs in the 90s. In fact they were close in the 90s in ODIs. Only in 00s, Lara went down and Sachin maintained. Also the under-estimation of Sachin talent here. LOL. guy debuted at 16 and had all the shots. Lara was better against (not fastish) spin for career, better at picking gaps and long innings, that's it. Sachin better against pace, seam, swing, better against spin in 90s, consistency, adaptability, range of shots.

[@ShivanDesai-f7h]

It has to be Sachin hands down !!!! The only batter in the history of the game who blended the cricket Manual technique with all forms of cricket across generations against the best bowlers the world has ever produced !! Perfect Backfoot ( punch is sheer poetry ) and front foot ( the straight drive should be named after him )game !! Woww still gives me the goosebumps . To add to it ,The pressure ( read Indian which is mammoth )he played under and weight of expectation he carried on his shoulders every single time he went out to bat for 24 years is just next level !! This is a pivotal factor that has not been given due consideration and weight by the panellist !! This has a bearing on a batter taking the route of flamboyance and low percentage shots !! We are talking bout GOAT ! Needs to be a comprehensive perspective !!! It can’t just be flamboyance dehors other fundamental cricketing factors !!having said that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a great show and I have deepest respect for the panelists !!!!!!!at one point of time I wanted challenge the world on this issue .. All I can say is that for me ,as a well informed and educated cricket fan , Sachin is the GOAT and I will take this to my grave !!!

[@PavanKumar-yn8lm]

LARA was way better than Tendulkar. This is real fact. Go and check Test Cricket Record, Brian Lara Way Way Ahead. Now to your point in ODI Cricket, Lara played only 153 innings as opener and at no 3 including. Rest of 146 inning he played at no 5 & 6. Where as Tendulkar played ODIs Just only as Opener itself about 360+++ innings, which is massive difference. Also he played 10-15 innings at no 3...Now you know why Tendulkar has better ODI Record, it is because he played tooo many games 360+++ as opener itself. Also look at Tendulkar batting, 20 yrs before what shots he plays, still same shots he plays 20 yrs after,,, but Brian Lara every single inning his stroke play is innovative, thats the sign of a Genius. Out of 34 Lara test centuries, at least 22 are pure gold and masterpiece, where as Tendulkar out of his 51 test centuries only 2 or 3 are counted as masterpiece. Also imp.to note that Tendulkar played 205 Test matches, Lara only 130. Tendulkar played 130+++ more innings in Test than Brian Lara...Most Talented Batsmen after Don Bradman is Brian Lara. Tendulkar is selfish and thinks of his own record.

[@tamilplasma-kf6mx]

Lara is worst😂

[@KaYnBaE]

Both were amazing. A young Tendulkar was fearless but due to injuries he couldn’t attack the way he used to in his teens and early 20s

[@phonkmaste]

Best Right handed batsman Sachin Tendulkar of his time. Best left handed batsman Brian Charles Lara of his time. We should not compare these two as both are completly different sort of players but both are best.

[@RP-kr2mg]

@@phonkmaste Kumar Sangakkarra

[@Ramvj7891]

It’s amazing how we start giving points to life lived outside of cricket in an attempt to justify our biases. And a specific kind of life at that. Sachin breathed cricket, to be consistent and be able to adapt to different conditions / eras / formats and at a humongous scale fundamentally needs talent. There is nothing the man could not do! Just as an example, I recently noticed that there have only been five batsmen in the history of test cricket to have started their innings off with two consecutive sixes and guess what - Sachin is right there in that list. Lara was great and very talented but a distant second to Sachin on ALL accounts. He himself has alluded to this on numerous occasions. It’s time we honor the right things in cricket, otherwise there will be no value in pursuing excellence and competence!

[@vaibhavmishra8389]

Lara was not better than Tendulkar,Lara was medicore in Odis

[@silviodante3950]

Don't cry Indian

[@silviodante3950]

Don't cry

[@varunshrivastav]

@@silviodante3950Stop with these Instagram’s don’t cry comments 😂 if you have a counter reply with facts and prove him wrong!

[@snehalkhatri9357]

@@silviodante3950 don't cry what?

[@Warlock786]

Shows the knowledge of Indians.

[@east-2-west]

I guess the opinions of the following individuals matter more than anyone else, who all said that Lara is slightly ahead of everyone, including Sachin, in his era. These were all their contemporaries. Waqar Inzamam Rahul Dravid Muralitharan Glenn McGrath Sangakkara Jacques Kallis Justin Langer Mathew Hayden Jason Gillispie Ricky Ponting And some more..... Now, here are some other greats who picked Sachin Andy Flower Allan Donald Shane Warne Michael Vaughn And several others... Most great players of the same era has picked Lara over Tendulkar. Both were spectacular, and we will continue to have our favorites.

[@bencross4098]

It would be interesting to be able to compare their respective records against spin. A common view, though perhaps not universally shared, is that this is one area of batting where Lara held an edge over Tendulkar - and probably everyone else for that matter.

[@jetpark3743]

Rohit sharma is more talented than Lara

[@nikunjdixit1175]

I feel like that's a stance that is taken primarily because of Lara's record against Murali. But Sachin had a phenomenal record against Warne in Tests and ODI's, and a pretty good record against Murali.

[@bencross4098]

@@nikunjdixit1175 That seems right to me. There might be an aesthetic aspect of this stance as well. The sheer adventurousness of Lara's footwork against spin is incredibly captivating. In any case, if Lara did have an edge over Tendulkar as a player of spin, it can't have been very big. And consistency aside, I'm inclined to think that Tendulkar had a slightly larger edge over Lara against fast bowling.

[@mayankdewli1010]

Exactly. Lara was the best against spin. Scored over 600 runs in a test series against murli in srilanka. He was quick on his feet. Could dance down the track and also step back and late cut you. And his sweep shot was amazing. Sachin was okay against spin but struggled in fourth innings even against ordinary spinners. Lara had the ability to dominate the spinners irrespective of conditions when in full flow

[@utkarsh80587]

@@mayankdewli1010 Sachin made a mincemeat of Warne on turning pitches in 98. Way above ok against spin.

[@east-2-west]

Muralidharan, Kallis, Sangakkara, Waqar said it best - Lara, by far, is the best player of his generation and it's a shame that he didn't take himself seriously for a portion of his career.

[@dudefromcbee]

That could be between 97-98... He was quite consistent ever since. Even before retirement, that way he was dominating attacks in a consistent manner is something many greats fail to do.

[@foodsafari-rj3uq]

Brian Lara: The more enterprising test batsman and a decent ODi batsman. Feared by every bowling attack around the world because of how easily he can take a game away in his element. Only batsman to score 400 in a test match. Started after Tendulkar. Retired well before him. Sachin Tendulkar. Played 24 years starting at 16 which includes 200 test matches. Most runs ever in any format (he only played one T20I so not counting that). 100 international centuries. Most test centuries ever (51). Second most ODI centuries (49). Most runs in CWC history. First ever 200 in ODIs. Carried the enormous expectations of an entire nation of billions pretty much by himself on several occasions and delivered more often than not despite playing with an average squad for most of his career. Tendulkar's was the most prized wicket even if Lara was the one who instilled fear. Lara had more instinctual talent, but Tendulkar was a natural at adapting his game with discipline.

[@satyajeetkashyap7820]

They missed one big point, tendulkar was 15-16 and the pressure he got from day 1 to be next gavasakar or even better and he carried it for 25 years on top of mountain. Lara was flair but with all due respect there is no comparison. Tendulkar made Indians believe all over the globe we can be best at something.

[@robs6952]

Lara was better to watch, but Tendulkar was incredible. However, Viv is still the best batsman I have ever watched.

[@jetpark3743]

M Waugh and Rohit Sharma

[@biswajit707]

They are just giving their opinions and their opinions don't matter at all. Sachin is the God of Cricket and he carried billion people's emotions, expectations in his shoulders for more than 2 decades.

[@sarbajitdas4014]

For all his flair, Lara doesn't have great *TEST* knocks against Donald, Waqar, Wasim or other genuinely fast bowlers, a huge admirer of Lara, but his talent and all that is a lot of that one stroke bias. If he could perform day in and day out, he would, fan fictions don't count

[@kaushikvenky1875]

Why is Bradman the most talented batsman? He only played against one opposition most of the time

[@iandavies6474]

So no easy innings against Zimbabwe,Bangladesh and the early Sri Lankan Test teams then? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@kaushikvenky1875]

@@iandavies6474 okay according to you, he is the greatest batsman, I can't change your mind and neither should you try that with me with your sarcasm.

[@iandavies6474]

@@kaushikvenky1875 You made it too easy and I don't think I'm the only one who thinks Bradman is the greatest (outside of India).

[@kaushikvenky1875]

​@@iandavies6474 I'm not suggesting that an Indian batsman is the greatest, in my opinion Viv Richards is the greatest and I'll stick to that.

[@kunjandesai4341]

Australia and England has always dominated force til late 80s so whatever their media said people always follow that...If you ask any Australian or British they will always say Bradman, but I am completely agree with you that Bradman used to play only two-three teams, Sachin is all time Great...

[@kkhera3730]

I'm an Indian heritage Warickshire fan that directly eyeballed last 100 or so of Lara's 501 vs Durham in stand he was nonchalently peppering at will at Edgbaston and lucky enough to have watched Little (actually giant) Master on many occasions too. I'd go with BC Lara ..... just. He played with a terrible top 3/4 majority of his career but still made runs everywhere, all conditions, vs all opponents and at 60+ SR. Both utter geniuses but you're MAKING me choose 😫😂😢

[@jamalkhan2305]

Always Sachin Nothing gives sweetness to the eyes than Sachin.

[@sanjeevsinghnegi7383]

Lara was delight to watch. Aggressive and Competitive. You will love him if you like his style of playing. But if you are saying best batter then no one compares to Sachin. Best Technical batsman. back foot punch, Straight drive, flick on the leg side ..just pure technician !!

[@ramv8449]

Absolutely no comparison...Sachin is million miles ahead ...with all due respect to Lara...Sachin is far ahead.....everyone is comfortably forgetting one thing....Sachin was carrying one of the largest nations expectations on his shoulders......he is by far the 👌

[@spuser12]

Sachin has 34k total runs with 100 centuries and plus 201 wickets in international cricket. 2011 odi WC win. What else can you expect him to be a GOAT. And technically all time GOAT batsman to watch.

[@russhouldin5774]

Good conversation. I like the summary that Lara was an artist, Tendulkar a technician but add that I find the latter so admirable.

[@marklewfatt4374]

Brian Lara is a Prince ,Sachin Tendulkar is a king.Sir Don Bradman is a God of cricket

[@P-hb3hp]

Sachin was a real hard working athelete. He worked on every aspect of Cricket batting, bowling or fielding. On the other hand Lara was pure entertainer. He always choose flamboyant approach than gridy hard working approach. That's why you saw Lara carelessly losed his wicket while you had to earn Sachin's wicket.

[@bhushanmuley7545]

Bumble is one those typical England cricket fraternity expert who don't see much beyond Australia,Ashes series n bit of west Indies bcz WI was champion team decades back...not a single word on Sachin n he is in conversation of choosing between Sachin n Lara...

[@MrAseem777]

Sachin hands down ❤ When Bradman calls you as his successor in the game, you dnt need any other reward 🙌🏻

[@satwikmohanty1430]

Tendulkar is cricket , there is no cricket without him. Lara himself said , Tendulkar is class apart and genius. He himself is a mere mortal. I respect Brian Lara , he is the greatest batsman after Tendulkar.

[@idontkareist]

Who truly rules the game? Flamboyance 🕺📽️🎬 ❌ Consistency 🏆🏆🏆 ✅

[@anindanmondal8223]

Sachin had to face steve Buckner without drs. Lara didn't

[@arjunghose2868]

Ha ha ha😂

[@kra.7671]

Let's not even go there.. Lara was given out more times than Sachin when he wasn't even tho he played way less matches... Go figure

[@AParrotNamedKiwi-tq4kd]

1. Style: Lara above Tendulkar (Although Sachin had plenty of it - example - the straight drive, Lara was pure poetry) 2. Consistency: Tendulkar above Lara (Test Average is similar, but Sachin had less variance) 3. Cross Format Excellence: Tendulkar above Lara (Sachin was definitely above Lara and all other peers in the ODI game) 4. Longevity: Tendulkar above Lara and every batter ever at international level! 20+ years! 5. Big Score Tendency: Lara above Tendulkar (with 300, 400 and 500! Lara wins this one) 6. Handling expectations: Both had the crowds swooning but with a billion Indians Sachin had more pressure on him and he almost always lived up to it 7. Audience Thrills: How can you pick one of them? Both have given us infinite thrills! Overall, the gap Sachin has over Lara on longevity and consistency, makes up for the gap Lara might have on Sachin in Style/BigScoreTendency - so my pick is Sachin! Go Lara! Go Sachin!

[@bewiththetruthalways5637]

How to measure talent? When Sachin was facing the best Pakistani bowling lineup at his teenage years. Or his 100 at the age of 17 at Old Trafford. That's talent man.

[@mayankdewli1010]

Sachin didn't get to face Pakistan a lot in tests. He scored 10 hundreds against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh which Lara didn't.

[@utkarsh80587]

@@mayankdewli1010 He scored 8 Test 100s against Ban and Zim combined. Tendulkar scored 51 Test 100s, of which 8 were scored against Ban and Zim combined in 16 Tests (lets say a 100 every 2 Tests). So Tendulkar still scored 43 100s against other oppositions including 11 against Oz. Lara scored 34 Test 100s. He scored a 100 each against Zim and Ban, so a total of 2 Test 100s in 4 Tests (So a 100 every 2 Tests same as SRT). The avge is same as Tendulkar, he just played fewer games against these oppositions which could be due to various reasons like WI board having a different schedule. Lara has 32 Test 100s against other oppsitions.

[@mayankdewli1010]

​@@utkarsh80587you are obviously not great with stats. Sachin scored 40 hundreds in 184 tests against proper teams. Lara played way less. Sachin also batted on flat Indian pitches in a flat track era where draws were a norm. His only great innings is 138 vs pak which was also useless as India lost. Lara had many more moments of brilliance which is why Lara is remembered with more fondless. Sachin was great at accumulating stats on flat pitches. Bcci even had to invite west indies in India so that Sachin goes out on a high because they knew he will fail miserably in south africa

[@utkarsh80587]

@@mayankdewli1010 I am good with both stats, memories and research. You are way better in deluding yourself into believing what you want to. While there may be a debate between Lara and Sachin about batting records, there is no debate when it comes to being ignorant and delusional - You are the absolute GOAT!!!! 😃😀. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise - You're the man!

[@Manishnishad007]

@@utkarsh80587he gave proof , you are giving irrelevant statements

[@gauravgummaraju]

Great conversation as always!

[@amitm2692]

Sachin at his absolute peak in the 90's was a monster till 2003....an absolute beast.....

[@mixmemorabilia]

Tendulkar by far, there's no debate even Lara said 'Sachin is a Genius, I'm a mere mortal' there's no comparison but if the 'pundits' want to talk nonsense then....

[@jameskeays9284]

They’re called BatsMEN!!!!! They’re aren’t baseball players and they’re men. It sounds so ametuer calling them a batter. It’s not sexist, they’re batsMEN!!

[@Apuroop4life]

When it comes to Sachin, it’s not just about consistency. It is about scoring under high pressure right from age 16. If Sachin was a member of the Australian side under Waugh and ponting then he too would’ve taken more risks and scored triple hundreds. Sachin is clearly a notch above Lara.

[@randomtrickspro8828]

The thing is these guys didn't say Sachin has every single record anyone could imagine except for average of bradman

[@BigWes95]

Partially because India play far more test matches than West indies. Also Lara has 2/3 of the highest test match scores and the highest first class score also so there are definitely records that he has

[@PavanKumar-yn8lm]

LARA was way better than Tendulkar. This is real fact. Go and check Test Cricket Record, Brian Lara Way Way Ahead. Now to your point in ODI Cricket, Lara played only 153 innings as opener and at no 3 including. Rest of 146 inning he played at no 5 & 6. Where as Tendulkar played ODIs Just only as Opener itself about 360+++ innings, which is massive difference. Also he played 10-15 innings at no 3...Now you know why Tendulkar has better ODI Record, it is because he played tooo many games 360+++ as opener itself. Also look at Tendulkar batting, 20 yrs before what shots he plays, still same shots he plays 20 yrs after,,, but Brian Lara every single inning his stroke play is innovative, thats the sign of a Genius. Out of 34 Lara test centuries, at least 22 are pure gold and masterpiece, where as Tendulkar out of his 51 test centuries only 2 or 3 are counted as masterpiece. Also imp.to note that Tendulkar played 205 Test matches, Lara only 130. Tendulkar played 130+++ more innings in Test than Brian Lara...Most Talented Batsmen after Don Bradman is Brian Lara. Tendulkar is selfish and thinks of his own record.

[@Travellertalpade]

​@@BigWes95Sachin has a 40+ avg in every country he played Also had way more longevity than that Lara

[@BigWes95]

@ShubhamSharma-nw4ig lara was far more destructive, could take the game away in a session and at his best he could hit it to any part of the ground. There's arguments either way

[@alisterjohn1652]

​@@BigWes95😂😂 thats way russel is more destructive then kohli doesn't mean he is better then kohli .

[@ab2035]

Anyone not picking Tendulkar is doing so purely out of malice. Especially with regards to the long standing sentiments towards India’s uprising.

[@joelnicholls5584]

Or they could just prefer Lara.

[@ab2035]

@@joelnicholls5584 most of them hasn’t even watched Lara properly

[@Natraja_369]

Sachin was a level above lara . No doubt abt that. Lara was great ,but below Sachin. Bradman said this. Barry Richards ,Sobers also prefer Sachin for his ball striking ability and glittering array of stroked.

[@owenrodgers8020]

I wanted to watch Lara, and was sad when he got out and im an Aussie. Sachin was a bit the same for me. Wanted to get the radio on. I think the word for Lara was mercurial. Sachin was a little more just at you all the time.

[@akom6075]

First there is Sachin, after that there are a handful of batsmen and then comes Lara..not even close..this after taking into account batsmen who have played from 1990's till now. But Lara was great to watch when he was on song , there's no denying his greatness but he is not even close in the pecking order..

[@mahendragadhavi276]

in the Modern times, its like comparing Kohli with ABD, while ABD is genius, the consistency, determination, and hunger of Kohli spanning across Decades, across Formats is what makes Kohli the greatets of this generation. same analogy goes for Sachin!

[@kartikgoel07]

Chokli fans everything is not about kohli

[@getoutoftheway419]

​@@kartikgoel07a lot of kids grew up watching Kohli and abd. it is an apt comparison to get a perspective on players they never saw live.

[@king_has_no_clothskul8635]

very good

[@prasadbmvs]

Apt comparision

[@Nikegv]

Tendulkar way above lara. Best batsmen of all time, both tests and odi.

[@ammitpchawda3610]

I had expected bumble to go with Lara ;) I agree Lara was a treat to the eyes .....:) I come from India and Tendulkar is a God here!! Tendulkar played with 5-6 other greats but Lara was a lone warrior and he always got into the skin of the aussies !! I loved seeing Warnie, Steve Waugh, Mcgrath frustrated and throwing their hands and caps on the field when he squeezed their marbles literally ...;)

[@aritrasengupta9322]

Simply put longevity and consistency come at a cost - the cost is less risk and potentially loss of flamboyance. You can’t have everything.

[@udayjoshi3508]

I think most English players, commentators and Media people pick Lara over Tendulkar simply because they saw more of him. And they have seen him bash their stupid 90s and early 2000s team to ever part of the ground; including county cricket.

[@govardhandass2529]

Woah! Would Lara be interested in playing Zimbabwe??? Why don't you guys do some homework before spitting out utter nonsense. Let's look at Lara's performance in Zimbabwe - 4 innings, 191 high score and overall average of 55.5 Tendulkar has his worst average in Zimbabwe (40 in 7 innings), which is the only country where he didn't manage to score a century (scored 2 half centuries in 7 innings though). However, overall as an opponent, Tendulkar scored 3 centuries including an unbeaten 201* against Zimbabwe in India. My question is, what makes you guys assume Lara wasn't interested in playing Zimbabwe? Absolute nonsensical arguments. Lara played 6 innings in India, didn't manage to make a century, high score being 91. Any excuse that it was relatively early in his career can't be accepted as it was his 5th year into international cricket. Overall he played 29 innings against India and averaged just a shy over 34. Tendulkar averages above 40 in every country he's played in (in fact he's the only batsman to do so). Steve Smith almost ticks that box, he just had one bad Bangladesh tour (hopefully he'll have another tour in future and be able to better his stats). The most interesting thing I find in this Lara vs Tendulkar argument is that, despite scoring the big 250s and 300s Lara averaged only 51.6 in comparison to Tendulkar's 58 (keep in mind Tendulkar only scored his first double century in 1999 - 217 against NZ in Ahmedabad) in the 90s decade. Let's assess the 90s decade. Lara scored 13 centuries and 29 half centuries in 112 innings ( a conversion rate of 31%) and averaged 51.6 Tendulkar scored 22 centuries and 21half centuries in 109 innings ( conversion rate of 51%) and averaged 58. Nobody came close to Tendulkar in the 90s, he was undisputedly the best test batsman of the decade. In 2000s, you can make an argument for Ponting/Kallis/Sangakkara/Dravid....the point is, no clear single batsman ruled that decade. People have their personal preferences. But to make such nonsensical arguments out in the public is just ignorance. The only thing that comes to my mind when I hear someone judge Lara more talented than Tendulkar is what Rahul Dravid said about talent - " I think we judge talent wrong. What do we see as talent? I think I have made the same mistake myself. We judge talent by people's ability to strike a cricket ball. The sweetness, the timing. That's the only thing we see as talent. Things like determination, courage, discipline, temperament, these are also talent."

[@govardhandass2529]

And by the way, why aren't these guys talking about the tennis elbow injury that Tendulkar suffered starting late 2004/early 2005 - which saw a dip in his performance till 2006 (post surgery). Sachin saw a second peak from 2007-2011 and he once again became the world's number 1 ranked test batsman.

[@prasadbmvs]

@@govardhandass2529 Some inherent bias these people have.

[@karthikpatra]

If anyone has followed Sachin's test career from the beginning, he really had two avatars... from 1989 to 1999 he was a genius attacking batter who could score against pace and spin with no specific vulnerability against any type of bowling. Post 2000 after he recovered from tennis elbow, he became more of an accumulator with Sehwag taking over the attacking role in tests. During this phase, he scored a lot of runs but looked boring at times. Mighty effective still! Phase-1: Tendulkar has no equal, Lara came a distant second. Phase-2: Lara In ODI's, Tendulkar has no equal. Viv comes second.

[@neilmichael2676]

I think with the Brett Lee story...Sachin understood the difference between ODI and Tests and played accordingly (with due respect to Bumble, saving a Test is as "edge of the seat" as whacking the ball to the four corners of a ground and beyond)...who can forget Sachin's Desert Storm innings or the test duels with Shane Warne. As far as Lara hitting the ball wherever he wanted...let me introduce you to a certain Issac Vivian Alexander Richards, the best West Indian Bat ever!!!

[@Ishansankhe]

I respect bumble, but his animosity towards Indian cricket and its players is too evident. No wonder why gets hate from Indian fans.

[@ericcartmansh]

Beautiful discussion and distillation

[@SWJ_]

Lara and Warne are the 🐐s.

[@highbury4life899]

So Anderson is the GOAT of England bowlers because of his longevity but Sachin isn't the GOAT of batting inspite of his longevity...blatant double standards Greats like Don Bradman and Vic Richards have rated Sachin Tendulkar highly...the younger lot are sour about it but will never admit that.

[@johnbattersby8639]

When the goat of recent years conversation comes up everyone always forgets Kallis, who averaged higher than both of them, scored buckets of runs everywhere and won many test matches for SA. For some reason South African players very rarely get put into the mix in these chats. Ask who the best fast bowlers in history are and people won't even have Steyn in the top 5, even though he's clearly in there. 99% they're talking about the goat from England, Australia or India.

[@Aneel_Bishnoii]

Lara never faced bowlers like Malcolm Marshall, ian bishop, kartley Ambrose, kartney walsh but sachin. Defiantly lara was a magician but sachin was ultimate disastrous. Never before never after like him

[@jetpark3743]

Lara was beautiful and skillfull but Sachin is the GOAT

[@spuser12]

If technically then all time best in any condition then Sachin Tendulkar with consistent runs scoring in all format he played but if big innings point in test cricket come in front then its Brian Lara. Australian sledged Lara several times but didn't dare to go at Sachin except McGrath.

[@afcfan9310]

Lara was more talented and better to watch since he also was a left-hander. Sachin was more dedicated, worked harder, and played for 20 years, a phenomenal achievement. Both were a privilege to watch.

[@sadenb]

As an Indian, I can say both are great players. I don't like these sort of comparisons with the greats.

[@mugbhary]

The discussion should ve been who is ur favorite between the legendary duo? Coz willing to keep aside facts for convenience precludes objectivity . Lara was a dedicated player not the typical carribean who only cared about flair . He played for the team n is a great team player . So lara's numbers in odis should be looked up with a pinch of salt instead of saying had he cared for odis he would ve scored triple centuries . Lara odi perfomance could be largely attributed to the lack of a solid batting lineup during his prime which made him take the pressure and buckle

[@ishanmukhopadhyay6264]

Lara was competitive, sure. But how many impactful innings did he actually play? He didn't even turn up always in the big games like Kohli tends to do. He was ridiculously talented, sure. But he impacted games far too infrequently to be seriously considered a threat to a good bowling line up.

[@avinashmohanlal]

Growing up in my childhood, Richards and Gavaskar were the two best batsmen. One was absolutely mesmerizing to watch and the other was rock solid, Mr dependable if you like. Now, Tendulkar was the perfect combination of both Richards and Gavaskar. Technically sound and yet could play some audacious shots against the best of bowlers! I think Lara was more like Richards but technically not as sound as Gavaskar. That is why I would always put Tendulkar above Lara.

[@tejeshkumartawania1443]

I dont agree with jarrod for the first time. I think lara was extremely good in tests and ptobably made the debate with sachin but lara has no chance aganist sachin in odis.

[@Apuroop4life]

Tendulkar always had the pressure of expectation upon him and in the 1990s he had to single-handedly win matches for a team that had fixers bringing it down. He would’ve been even more explosive like desert storm all through his career. He always had to compose himself and play long innings for the sake of the team or else he would’ve been far more explosive. Think of Tendulkar replace Damien martyn in the legendary Australian team at no 4. Think what he could’ve done. Tendulkar is the GOAT, he scored all over the world and against the best bowlers of all time. Tendulkar had 0 problems against warne whereas Lara did. Tendulkar and McGrath did not play as many number of times against each other as McGrath did against Lara and Tendulkar understood how to tackle McGrath too which is by attacking him. If he played more times against McGrath he would’ve scored even more.