Sachin, Lara, Sangakkara, Kallis, Ponting: Who is the greatest Test match-winner?

Peer comparison in wins

This metric, according to me, provides a great indication of how crucial a batsman’s contribution has been in a winning cause.

Not only does it offer a way of comparing the batsman’s performance with that of his team mates (top 5 batsmen) but also helps us understand how much better or worse he fared compared to the opposition’s finest (top 5).

Knocks such as Lara’s 153* immediately come to mind, as it stood out when compared to his team mate’s efforts but was matched by Steve Waugh’s 199 in the same game. Dravid’s two half centuries on a spiteful track in Jamaica in 2006 (runs per wicket in the match were < 18) were among the best played by an Indian batsman abroad.

When we analyse the peer performance in wins, we find that Tendulkar’s average in wins is slightly lower than that of his team mates (average ratio R1 = 0.97). This can perhaps be explained by the fact that he was part of a strong batting line-up (Dravid, Laxman and Sehwag) in the second half of his career.

However, Tendulkar has outperformed the opposition’s top batsmen by 41% (R2 = 1.41) in India wins. The corresponding numbers for Dravid are 1.17 and 1.54. Lara, who for a significant part of his career, received very little support from his batsmen, has an average that matches those of his top batsmen (R1 = 0.99) and completely outperforms opposition batsmen (R2 = 1.87).

Among the other three batsmen, it is interesting to note Sangakkara’s performance for his average is 25% better than his team mates in wins (the best among the batsmen considered).