As brilliant a batsman as Sachin is, I do not think Scyld (ex-editor of Wisden Almanack) is too far off the mark with that comment
In other words Dravid scores the hard runs, Sachin the easy ones
**England v India: Sachin Tendulkar’s limitations have been exposed on this troubled tour
**He was nine runs away from scoring his 100th international century when the Australian Rod Tucker — always a bowler’s umpire — gave him leg-before-wicket and terminated India’s hopes of an individual success to compensate for their team’s failure. It was so much easier back then, in those days of youthful bravado. The 17 year-old Tendulkar flashed and crashed England’s quick bowlers through the offside.
The Old Trafford pitch was truer than the Oval’s, the ball had virtually no seam that summer, and — above all — the home side’s players were not very good, serving the two masters of county and country as they had to do.
On Monday England’s bowling proved too much, and maybe the expectations were too much as well.
As in his World Cup semi-final innings against Pakistan at Mohali — the last time Tendulkar got close to a century — he became scratchier the longer he went on. It cannot be easy when you know a billion rupees change hands with every boundary you score.
Tendulkar could have been given leg-before twice, and he was missed once behind the wicket and once at short leg off Graeme Swann. Back in 1990 England’s off-spinner was Eddie Hemmings, bowling steadily, but rolling not ripping it. Swann translates the fizz in his personality into his bowling.
If Matt Prior were a safer keeper to spin, Tendulkar would never have got so close. For England to succeed in Asia this winter, Prior has to work on keeping his gloves wide open when standing up, as Alan Knott used to do.
Tim Bresnan has to become the reverse-swing specialist before a second new ball becomes available, and Andrew Strauss, instead of being decent and straightforward, has to cunningly create the illusion that Swann is making things happen even when they are not.
As Tendulkar became more uncertain yesterday, Amit Mishra began to bat more and more like his partner and easily outscored Tendulkar in their century stand (which was only the second that India have complied this summer, to go with two by Sri Lanka, against the 20 century partnerships by England).
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“The truth is that we have learned more about Tendulkar this time - or rather his limitations - than on his four previous tours of England. He is the greatest accumulator since Sir Donald Bradman, dedicated to excellence and technical perfection, and records have fallen to him as a consequence.
But he is not a competitor like Viv Richards was, or Rahul Dravid is.** By nature Dravid is not confrontational either, like Tendulkar, but he is always striving to get the best out of himself whether batting or in the field: among his other feats, Dravid has taken far more Test catches than anyone.”
Whenever Gautam Gambhir has an injury, Dravid responds to the challenge of moving up a place in the order.
When Zaheer Khan limped off on the first day at Lord’s, it ended any chance India had of winning this series but not necessarily of competing.
If Tendulkar had brought his knowledge to bear at mid-off, instead of withdrawing to the boundary, and had talked India’s inexperienced seamers through each spell and sometimes each ball, as Zaheer does, India would not have folded as they did.
Dravid averaged 76 in this Test series, Tendulkar 34, but ultimately it is not the numbers that matter. Dravid added to his reputation in this Test series; India’s other 38 year-old did not. Dravid asserted himself and proved to his team-mates that there was a way of counteracting the unrelenting accuracy and hostility of England’s pace bowlers; Tendulkar did not.
So the 100th hundred may now come instead at Chester-le-Street, or Cardiff, in a one-day international. And it will be a fine accumulation of runs for certain, but not an innings that shaped the course of a Test series and dictated the flow of human events.