Who was a better batsman, Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar?

 This is a debatable question but I would go with Sachin Tendulkar. Sunil Gavaskar was great in Test cricket but not so much in ODI’s. Gavaskar was purely a batsman but Tendulkar was quite handy as a bowler.

In favour of Gavaskar he faced one of the most hostile fast pace bowling from peak West Indies, at a time when players played fiwtout helmets, with small bats, big boundaries, and hardly any bowling restrictions on short bowling. He had an average of 51 in tests which is great for that time as well. Even in ODI'S he improved in the last 2–3 years and ended up with one century and 3092 runs with an average of 35. Had his ODI record better he could been neck to neck with Sachin. His strike rate was another weakness with a strike rate of 40 in tests and 62 in ODI. As a bowler Gavaskar hardly did anything substantial with only 2 wickets to his credit. Another negative aspects of his career was the 36* of 174 balls in the 1975 world cup which is one of the worst innings ever played in international cricket. He didn't perform well in any of the world cups for India except 1987. He failed spectacularly in the 1983 world cup which india won. In the 1987 however he scored 300 runs which is more than half of his total world cup runs.

Now coming to Tendulkar he didn't faced the prime West Indies bowling but still he played Walsh and Ambrose along with other great bowlers like prime Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, McGrath, Lee, Warne, Murli, Vaas etc. Tendulkar unlike Gavaskar was an agressive batsman whose Test strike rate was almost same as Gavaskar’s ODI strike rate and in one days he had a healthy strike rate of 86. Even his average of 53 in tests and 44 in ODI is better. He is the highest run scorer in ODI and tests since about two decades and unless Root breaks his test tally he is going to remain at the top for eternity. Tendulkar was more than just a part time bowler. He led India to victory with his bowling multiple times. He has 2 give wicket hall and overall 201 wickets to his credit. In the world cup Sachin had the highest runs in two editions 1996 and 2003. Also he was the second highest overall scorer and highest scorer for India in the 2011 world cup.

All in all both players belong to very different period and thus comparison is unjustified but still on purely basis of stats Sachin seems ahead of Gavaskar.

Who has been a better batsman between Saurabh Ganguly or Rahul Dravid?

 Well,firstly,the name is Sourav Ganguly,and not what the question states.

Secondly,its really a sin to compare two absolute legends and gems of Indian cricket. But then,comparison is human nature,and so,I’ll compare them according to their batting skills,in the most impartial way possible.

Disclaimer- My answer is not meant to hurt the fans of any of the two cricketers. I have tremendous respect for both of them.

Comparison across formats(only tests and ODIs involved,as Ganguly never played a T20I,and Dravid played just 1). I have alloted 1 point as full point for each round of comparison. And for convenience,I’ll denote Ganguly as G and Dravid as D. Also,I’d skip batting averages at home,as its common sense that every batsman enjoys home conditions-

Test cricket-

Many people call Rahul Dravid as the best test batsman of India,rating him above even Sachin Tendulkar.

• Overall stats-

1. Ganguly- 7212 runs in 113 matches(188 innings)
2. Dravid- 13288 runs in 164 matches(286 innings)

• Runs/innings-

1. Ganguly- 38.36
2. Dravid- 46.46

So here,Dravid beats Ganguly by a huge margin(D1- G0)

• Overall batting average-

1. Ganguly- 42.2
2. Dravid- 52.3

Here too,Dravid is way ahead of Ganguly(D2- G0)

• Overseas batting average(overall)-

1. Ganguly- 41.6
2. Dravid- 53

Dravid is way ahead of Ganguly here(D3- G0)

• Overseas batting average(country specific)

1. Australia- Ganguly- 35 < Dravid- 41.6
2. England- Ganguly- 65.4 < Dravid- 69
3. South Africa- Ganguly- 36.2 > Dravid- 30
4. West Indies- Ganguly- 40 < Dravid- 65.7
5. New Zealand- Ganguly- 28 < Dravid- 64
6. Sri Lanka- Ganguly- 36.7 > Dravid- 33
7. Pakistan- Ganguly- 49.3 < Dravid- 78.6
8. Bangladesh- Ganguly- 62 < Dravid- 70
9. Zimbabwe- Ganguly- 30.6 < Dravid- 79

So,here Dravid is ahead of Ganguly by (7–2) margin.

Overall,Dravid leads Ganguly by (D10- G2)

Conclusion in tests- So,judging by the statistics,Rahul Dravid has simply outclassed Sourav Ganguly,as a way better batsman,in test cricket.

But,here comes the twist. Rahul Dravid has played a whooping 213 innings,at no.3,which is right at the top of the order. But poor Ganguly has never played even a 100 innings at a specific batting position. He has played 99 innings at no.5,where he averages 38,and 47 innings at no.6,where he averages 42. And both these batting positions,especially no.6,are lower middle-order batting positions. So,its quite evident,that mostly,Ganguly had to bat with the tail-enders. And batting with tail-enders,especially in SENAW countries isn’t easy at all. So,stats always don’t say the whole thing.

But going by stats,Dravid is way better as a test batsman.

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Now ODI cricket-

• Overall stats-

1. Ganguly- 11363 runs in 311 ODIs(300 innings)
2. Dravid- 10889 runs in 344 ODIs(318 innings)

• Runs/innings-

1. Ganguly- 37.9
2. Dravid- 34.2

So,Ganguly is better than Dravid here.(G1- D0)

• Batting average(overall)-

1. Ganguly- 41.1
2. Dravid- 39.1

So,Ganguly outsmarts Dravid here.(G2- D0)

• Batting avearge(overseas,as a whole)-

1. Ganguly- 39.7
2. Dravid- 37.6

Ganguly is ahead here too.(G3- D0)

• Batting average(in Australia and South Africa,toughest touring nations)-

1. Ganguly- 33.3 and 50
2. Dravid- 32.8 and 44.3

Ganguly is slightly ahead here too,inspite of his so called short-ball weakness.(G4- D0)

• Strike-rate-

1. Ganguly- 74
2. Dravid- 71

Ganguly has better S/R. (G5- D0)

• Performances in CWC-

1. Ganguly- 1006 runs in 21 matches,at an average of 56,and S/R of 77.5
2. Dravid- 860 runs in 22 matches,at an average of 61.42,and S/R of 75.

Dravid has better average,but Ganguly has better S/R,so points will be shared here. (G6- D1)

• Performances in ICC Champions’ Trophy-

1. Ganguly- 665 runs in 13 matches,at an average of 74,and a S/R of 83.
2. Dravid- 627 runs in 19 matches,at an average of 48,and a S/R of 73.

Here,Ganguly is way ahead of Rahul Dravid.(G7- D1)

• Not-out frequency(total not-outs in total innings)

1. Ganguly- 0.076(23 not-outs in 300 innings)
2. Dravid- 0.125(40 not-outs in 318 innings)

Dravid has higher not-out frequency.(G7- D2)

• Performances in crunch clashes-

Ganguly has 3 tons and a brilliant 83,in the knock-out matches of ICC CWC and ICC Knockout Trophy/Champions’ Trophy. Rahul Dravid hasn’t got even a decent score to show.

Ganguly makes it (8–2) against Dravid in ODIs.

Conclusion in ODIs- Sourav Ganguly was a way better batsman in this format,than Rahul Dravid. Ganguly has single-handedly bailed India out of trouble in several matches,while Dravid has very few moments in his entire ODI career,most notably- his 22-ball-50 against NZ,and being the highest scorer in ICC CWC 1999.

Overall conclusion- The honours have been shared. Rahul Dravid emerged as a better batsman in tests,whilst Ganguly proved his mettle in ODIs.

However,both have got immense contributions to Indian cricket,and will always remain the epitomes of India’s success between the years 1996- 2008.

P. S.- It took exactly 4.5 hours to compile the stats,and then organize this answer. Its my heartiest request to all readers,please read the answer till the end,and please do upvote if you like it.🙏🌝

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Special mention(idea given by Jotham )-

Comparison of batting stats of captain Ganguly and captain Dravid-

In tests-

1. Dravid- 44.51(25 matches)
2. Ganguly- 37.66(49 matches)

So,Dravid was a much better batsman,while captaining team India,than Ganguly,though Ganguly has captained in a lot more tests.

In ODIs-

1. Dravid- 42.2(79 matches)
2. Ganguly- 38.7(147 matches)

Dravid outsmarts Ganguly here too,but again,Ganguly was captain for almost twice as many matches as Dravid.

How many Indian batsmen have scored double centuries in Australia?

 Only three Indian has done so far in Australia

Ravi Shastri scored 206 in Sydney which was a draw. This was the only test which India managed to draw in 91–92 series which they lost 4–0. This was also the debut match of Shane Warne. Sachin also scored 148* in this match

Rahul Dravid scored 233 in Adelaide in 2003 and India won this test by 4 wickets. This is the only double century by an Indian in Australia which resulted in a test win, Dravid followed this double century with a half century in the fourth inning to win the test for India.

Sachin Tendulkar scored 241* in Sydney in 2003–04 series and the match ended with a draw. In his biography Sachin mentioned that his brother gave him a challenge of remaining not out in this match which he did by scoring 241* and 60* in the match. The match ended with a draw.

Viru came close to a double ton when he scored 195 in Melbourne in 2003 series. Pujara scored 193 in Sydney in 2018–19 series.

Is there any cricketer who started his career as a batsman but ended as a bowler or vice-versa?

 Category- 1 : Started as a Batsman, ended being a Bowler (Few)

1. Ravi Ashwin would be the Best example- Started as an Opening Batsman, but is (was rather) Dhoni’s Go-to man and India’s strike Bowler.

2. Shahid Afridi who made a world record for the fastest century is now remembered more for his faster ones :P

EDIT

3. Ravindra Jadeja- It would be gross injustice to exclude Sir Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja from the List, who holds an enviable record of scoring 3 Triple Centuries in First Class Cricket. In the process he equalled Sir Don Bradman’s Tally and became the first Indian to do so (Something which even Dravid, Gavaskar and Sachin failed to do), That too at an age of just abt 23 :O

However, of late he has struggled with the bat (and has ended up being the butt of the SIR Jokes) and plays in d team as a Bowling All rounder. In the South Africa Series, his role was dat of a specialist Spinner.

Category- 2: Started as a Bowler, ended being a Batsman

1. Steve Smith- who would have believed that a Baby faced leg spinner with Warnesque action would go on to become the No.1 test Batsman in the world and equal Bradman for centuries in 4 consecutive tests. Add captaining Australia and scoring 3 centuries in first 3 matches.

2. Mark Richardson- started his career as a Left Arm Spinner, batting at No. 10 but went on to open in Tests for New Zealand.

3. Shoaib Malik- An off spinner with a Saqlain like action turned into a reliable batsman for Pakistan.

4. Scott Styris- Started his career as Medium Fast bowler and his Maiden ODI wicket was that of Sachin himself. Slowly he turned into a reliable Middle order Batsman.

Then, there are other contenders like Jayasuriya, Shane Watson, James Franklin, Cameron White for the 2nd Category

Which is the best inning played by an Indian batsman outside India?

 

Sunil Gavaskar's 221 at The Oval in 1979?

Yes, easily.

But unfortunately for Sunny, some bad captaincy decisions from the Indian captain Venkatraghavan screwed the pooch with all his efforts just ending in a draw that pushed that score way behind in rankings.

Remember, Sunny scored that in the 4th innings on English wickets chasing a 400+ total

There have been only 6 players in the entire history of cricket who have scored a double hundred in the 4th innings. Sunny’s score is 2 runs behind George Headley and 1 run behind Nathan Astle.

And remember this…

Gordon Greenidge, one of the 6 to have scored a double in the 4th innings, scored 214* against England in 1984 and WI won and that put Greenidge’s innings in the Wisden rankings 21 of the greatest Test innings of all time. Sunny’s innings is 74th on the list but not top 10. The only Indian batsman on the top 10 is VVS Laxman for his 281 in 2001.

The difference between Greenidge & VVS Laxman and Sunny is the result. Had India won, Sunny ‘s innings would be in the top 5 greatest innings of all time ( Laxman’s innings is in the 6th spot) above Greenidge’s 21st spot and above Laxman. Wisden rankings are weighted on the results.

Greenidge’s innings chased a total of under 350. Sunny’s score chased 438 and ended up 9 runs short for a draw.

So yes, without a shadow of doubt, that is the greatest innings played by an Indian batsman outside India. The only other innings that rises to that calibre is Laxman’s innings but his was in Kolkata not at the Kennington Oval.