There has been a lot of talk about who the best match winner is in contemporary test cricket lately ..When u talk about match winners its not really what his average is or how many runs a particular player scores…Its more got to do with in which situation he scores those runs and what sort of impact it has on the team’s chances of winning the match… The greatness of any player isn't measured just by the amount of runs he scores, or the way he gets them. The capability of an individual to rise to the occasion and play when the chips are down — this is the true barometer of a player's caliber...I have left out Tendulkar who arguably is one of the best batsmen if not the best simply because in spite of playing in a team which has the best batting line up in the world he keeps on failing time and again when it really matters…..The latest example is the 3rd and final test against Pakistan….What all was expected of him was to survive a session and a half….But once again he crumbled under pressure even after being given a life by Asim Kamal…Tendulkar the great player that he is unfortunately scores a lot of meaningless runs which hardly benefits his team…Put him in a pressure cooker situation and he is bound to fail 99% of the time…Yes…he scores a lot of runs….more runs than anybody else…But when asked to do it alone..when he is desperately needed…He fails!...It has been proved time and again… Here is a pretty old article on Sachin Tendulkar pointing out his inabilities to play vital innings when needed for India….:
Review on Tendulkar
My top three test cricket match winners in contemporary cricket::
1.
Brian Lara: I’m sure very few will have any problems with Brian Lara’s position as the greatest match winner of his time…The guy plays in a team where he hardly gets any support from his fellow players…..Starting with his majestic 277 at Sydney in 92-93 against Australia to the match saving 400 not out where he single handedly saved Windies the blushes of a white wash against England, this genius is in a class of his own…..What keeps Lara ahead of the pack is that he thrives to play the most stunning and unbelievable match winning innings under pressure… One can never forget Lara's unbeaten 153 on a broken wicket at Barbados versus Australia in 1998 which won the match for his side… The Prince of Trinidad plays cricket in his very own unstoppable terms…..
Key Fact: 10 000 runs, two world records, 27 centuries including a quadruple, triple and five doubles!
Career Statistics:
10294 runs at an average of
53.33 with 27 centuries!
Highest Score: 400*
2.
Inzamam-Ul-Huq: Pakistan’s ‘Captain Fantastic’….Whenever the heat is on….the one player Pakistan look up to is The Multan Giant……He is a proven champion match winner…He doesn’t have the luxury of an Indian or Australian batting line up behind him…...He knowz once he gets out, there won’t be any Pontings or Martins or Laxmans…..Every time this fellow moves onto the crease he knowz that its on him to deliver…Infact it is a norm to see Inzi walking in at Pakistan two or three down for virtually nothing….From the unbelievable last wicket partnership with Mushtaq against the Mighty Aussies in 94-95 to seal a famous win to the priceless 86 that he scored walking in at 10 for 3(2nd innings) in the first test against India in the test series…This champion batsman is the hallmark of an all-time great…..And at least we are well aware of his match winning abilities after the Multan episode…I’m sure no other international batsman would have won Pakistan the match from that situation…That was the only time I desperately wanted my favourite international batsman to get out…
A Fantastic Match Winner!
Key Fact: Of the 21 hundreds (13 of them scored overseas!) he's scored, 16 of them have led to Pakistani victories. It's an astonishing high percentage, and among batsmen with at least 15 centuries, it's been bettered only by Don Bradman and Steve Waugh!
Career Statistics:
7453 runs at an average of
50.02 with 21 centuries!
Highest Score: 329
3.
Rahul Dravid: ‘The Wall’ that he is famously known as…..And yes the wall he is….India’s crisis man and technically the best batsman in the world….Dravid is a signature of commitment and patience…He has won and saved matches for India, even to the extent of causing a miracle…What sets him apart is his consistency and temperament. Every team that he plays against hopes that he makes a mistake somewhere, but he has no apparent weakness..The toughest batsman to dismiss in test cricket…Rahul has played key roles in India's victories over Sri Lanka at Kandy in 2001, against England at Headingley in 2002, against the Aussies at Adelaide in 2003 and even against Pakistan last year at Rawalpindi… He has been instrumental in India winning Tests overseas….Whenever he scores "huge" tons, India has avoided defeat if not won…Every time India is in trouble, he’ll take up all the responsibly of the world on his shoulders.. The same cannot be said of others in the team…
Key Fact: He has scored more double centuries than any other Indian batsman past or present!
Career Statistics:
7696 runs at an average of
57.86 with 20 centuries!
Highest Score: 270
PS: This is entirely my opinion….I’ll look forward to the top three test cricket match winners of u ppl…cheers…..