Stats Analysis

15,000 and counting

A statistical review of Sachin Tendulkar's performance as a one-day batsman

When Sachin Tendulkar reached his fifty in the second ODI against South Africa, he went past another milestone in a career chequered with record-breaking moments. Tendulkar became the first batsman to accumulate 15,000 runs in ODIs - he was the first to 10,000 runs as well - and that didn't come as a surprise considering the productivity of his long career.

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The 10,000 club in ODIs
Player Matches Runs Average HS 100 50 SR
Sachin Tendulkar 384 15043 44.24 186* 41 79 85.62
Sanath Jayasuriya 395 12063 32.95 189 25 64 90.58
Inzamam-ul-Haq 378 11739 39.52 137* 10 83 74.24
Sourav Ganguly 294 10880 41.68 183 22 68 73.69
Brian Lara 299 10405 40.48 169 19 63 79.51
Ricky Ponting 280 10395 43.31 164 23 62 80.27
Rahul Dravid 318 10265 40.09 153 12 79 70.81

In the 189 ODI innings he has played when India has won, Tendulkar has scored 9061 runs at an average of 56.98, with a strike-rate of 89.72, all figures higher than his overall average. He averages 47.96 in 36 finals (of tournaments involving three teams or more), though the fact that he has scored only four hundreds, and that only 13 of those matches have resulted in wins, might come as a disappointment. Incidentally, he averages 89.10 at a strike-rate of nearly 100 when the team has won in a final.

He instantly became the face of the day-night game, and in fact Tendulkar has scored the highest number of runs while batting second in a day-night game and is third on the list of all-time highest averages while chasing under lights.

The best batsmen under lights (Minimum qualification: 30 innings)
Player Innings Runs Average SR
Hansie Cronje 38 1405 58.54 73.75
Michael Bevan 42 1599 51.58 69.55
Sachin Tendulkar 75 3087 45.39 87.94
Boeta Dippenaar 30 1073 41.26 68.24
Jacques Kallis 56 1857 41.26 70.58

Tendulkar has scored the most runs by far (12019) while batting in the top three. However, a few batsmen have averaged better than him in the top-order, though none in the top five apart from Sir Viv Richards come close to his batting strike-rate.

Highest averages for batsmen playing in the top-order (Min 30 innings)
Player Innings Runs Average 100 50 SR
Sir Viv Richards 51 2418 57.57 5 15 86.88
Mohammad Yousuf 43 1988 55.22 5 13 78.82
Glenn Turner 33 1346 48.07 3 8 68.46
Sachin Tendulkar 275 12019 47.13 37 58 87.22
Jacques Kallis 145 5576 46.08 11 36 71.43

Though he's been dismissed in the 90s in two consecutive matches, Tendulkar can take heart from his performance against South Africa in the ongoing series in Ireland. South Africa is the only team against whom he has failed to maintain an average score of 35 per innings.

Tendulkar's record against Test-playing nations in ODIs
OppositionMatchesRunsAverageSR
Australia47218346.4487.74
Bangladesh1035444.2586.97
England2790039.1389.82
New Zealand38146041.7193.89
Pakistan61212238.5886.40
South Africa51164732.2971.42
Sri Lanka65243645.9686.53
West Indies38157154.1778.08
Zimbabwe34137749.1791.55

Interestingly, the South African bowlers have managed to keep him quiet over the years, as reflected in his low strike-rate of 71.42 against them. The reason for his success at Belfast could be the absence ofShaun Pollock. Pollock has dismissed Tendulkar nine times in ODIs, along with Sri Lanka'sChaminda Vaas. The other successful bowlers includeGlenn McGrathandHeath Streak, who have dismissed him seven times each.

Tendulkar also performs better at neutral venues than at home in India. His record in away games though is unimpressive.

Tendulkar's statistics by type of venue
Type of venueMatchesRunsAverage10050SR
Away119380334.5781880.24
Home130522946.27162987.54
Neutral138601151.37173287.66

Tendulkar currently averages over 50 in the 13 matches he has played in 2007. He has finished five years so far with an average of over 50 in ODIs. However, after a successful 2003 World Cup, he suffered a slump. He averaged a measly 34.97 in 37 innings in 2004 and 2005. Also, his strike-rate dropped gradually from 87.36 in 2003 to 77.05 in 2006.

Since the 2003 World Cup, Tendulkar has played 72 innings, in which he has scored 2824 runs at an average of 43.44 at a strike-rate of 81.85. He opened the batting in only 58 of these innings and though his record at No. 4 was equally impressive, he failed while batting one-down. In four innings at No.3, he averaged 8.75 and had a woeful strike-rate of 54.68. Clearly, Tendulkar prefers not to take first strike while opening the innings.

Position-wise records for Tendulkar
Batting PositionInningsRunsAverageSR
First47162536.1182.82
Second2181030251.2588.60
Third109210.2248.16
Fourth61205938.8477.08
Fifth3679728.4681.07
Sixth414849.33134.54
Seventh1202080

Although of late, he's looked to play with caution, he can be destructive and equally dismissive of opposition bowlers at will, as seen in the latest innings against South Africa, where he pulled the ball with an air of nonchalance. Here's a list of innings where he's been at his explosive best:

Highest strike-rate for a Tendulkar innings (Minimum qual: 50 runs)
OppositionRunsBalls facedSR4s6sVenue
Bermuda5729196.5524Port of Spain
New Zealand8249167.34152Auckland
Australia6238163.5110Visakhapatnam
Pakistan6744152.27110Dhaka
New Zealand5336147.2233Colombo (RPS)

That list includes the magical 49-ball 82 against New Zealand, Tendulkar's first as an opener. Since then, it's been many more runs on the board. Tendulkar has scored almost 26,000 runs in international cricket, and looks unlikely to be overtaken soon unless his nearest rival Brian Lara comes out of retirement as stated and makes runs at a far greater pace than his contemporary.

Highest run-getters in international cricket (Tests+ODIs+Twenty20s)
PlayerMatInnRunsHSAverage10050
Sachin Tendulkar52559825975248*48.2878122
Brian Lara43052122358400*46.2853111
Inzamam-ul-Haq4985492056332943.4735129
Ricky Ponting3954601994125749.605699
Rahul Dravid4274791963127046.8536126

Sachin TendulkarIndiaSouth Africa vs IndiaFuture CupIndia tour of Ireland, England and Scotland

Mathew Varghese is an editorial assistant with cricinfo.com

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