Impact matters more than numbers:Tale of two legends

​

​

Disclaimer: I am one of Sachin’s biggest fan. I have just used his name as an example. I don’t mean to offend him & his fans

​

Oh! I am like a cat on hot bricks. Hey guys I am writing my first blog today. It is about cricket. I am 12 & an avid cricket fan & also love to play the game. One thing which in my opinion hurts me is people judging players on the number of runs they score or the wickets they take. For example, a bowler takes 4 wickets in a match & another takes three. That doesn’t mean that the first player played better than the second player in the match. If the first player gets all tail enders out & the second gets the top three batsmen out, that means that the second player has a greater impact on the team. So, to conclude you can’t define a player by the number of runs s/he scores or the wickets s/he takes.

Let’s take someone like Sachin Tendulkar on one side & Dravid on the other hand. Undoubtedly Sachin is the best player in the world & has great numbers. On the other side Dravid also has great numbers but Sachin has slightly better numbers. If I was to pick, one of these two, I would go with Dravid. He is the man who taught India how to play outside the sub-continent. Dravid’s captaincy is better than Sachin’s. He has a higher impact than Sachin Tendulkar & has produced many match definers. His batting average is higher than Tendulkar in India’s victories, outside the sub-continent.

​

Let me share some examples.

​

India vs South Africa- Johannesburg 1997: 

In the first innings of the test match in Johannesburg- Early on Fiery South African pacers wrapped up the top 3 before 100. That time inexperienced 24-year-old Dravid came on to bat against in form Alan Donald, Lance Klusner. Dravid played more maturely than most of the senior players setting up a 150 plus stand with Saurav Ganguly. Thrashing the fiery attack black & blue. Making 148 runs.

In the second innings he scored 81 securing the man of the match in the drawn game. He saved the match for the country & most of all he being a youngster he showed commendable maturity.

​

India vs Australia 2001:

After giving away 250+ lead to the visitors. India had to take the follow on. Nobody even thought India could pull of a win from this stage. But Dravid & Laxman, could make the invincible possible. India had lot 3 for 115. When VVS Laxman came on to bat. He batted fearlessly. For the 5th wicket he & the Wall. Rahul Dravid put up 376 together & gave India a hope of a win. Then Harbhajan pulled of a heist & India had pulled of a thriller. Thanks to Dravid & VVS Laxman India saved the series & broke Australia’s unbeaten record.

Few other great knocks of Dravid are: 233 Against Australia from 84/5 and 270 Against Pakistan from 0 for 1

This shows that Dravid is a high impact player who has great numbers & he doesn’t succumb under pressure.

 

So today in my first blog I shared my thoughts on the impact a player has for his team. I also gave an example of an impactful player, Rahul Dravid. Impact is more important than numbers. Numbers can be deceptive.

​

Do you think numbers matter more than the impact? Who do you think made a higher impact, Dravid or Sachin?

​

Please let me know your thoughts.

​

I would try to upload a blog regularly. Please hit the like button & share it with your friends. Thank you!!!