Head to Head: Dravid OR Sehwag - Warming Up To “Sudden Death”
While a Sachin Tendulkar has his place etched for eternity, the “Sehwag or Dravid” kind of debates will continue for a long time.
On a hot Saturday afternoon many years back, a young boy had committed a cricket match between his team and an arch rival in his locality. After school and a quick lunch, he rushed out with his bat to assemble 11 players and went from house to house pulling out the players. Much to his shock, several key players refused to play saying they are going to a movie and can’t waste their time in a cricket match when something bigger exists elsewhere!
It was an “11 Pencils” match! Not being a movie buff, he went to the venue dejected to tell the rival team that he couldn’t assemble the team and the match be postponed. It was obviously not his day – the bullies in the rival team demanded that he shell down “11 Pencils”. Unprepared, he went back home, followed by a few from the rival team to collect the “11 Pencils”. The boy’s mother handed over Rs 1.10 (11 pencils at 10 paise each), with an advise to not commit cricket matches in future!
At home, the boy got into a corner – sad and contemplating about how to spend a glorious Saturday evening. Unable to decide, he just took his bicycle and went out, in whichever direction his legs could pedal.
The legs could pedal in only one direction - the movie hall! To join a long winding queue where his friends were in the middle. His challenge was to get into a long conversation with them and become part of the Q without anyone protesting. It happened exactly that way.
His only worry was that any movie he sees has to be prediscussed at home and preapproved! Moreover, this was an “Adults Only” movie and what if someone known to the family sees him in the Q – in his society, a boy watching an “A” movie is a sign of having gone astray and beyond redemption!!). His friends advised him to enjoy the movie and they all can worry about all else together later!
The movie that he saw turned out to be an unbelievable entertainer – action packed, brutally violent, item numbers for the “innocent” (?) soul – and a story that touched the heart, soul and mind of the masses in a positively impactful manner.
Back home, he was asked by his parents where he had been, out for so long without informing them (they had no “luxury” of telephone at home). When he disclosed, after a few moments of stunned silence, his dad said “Violent, but beautiful movie”. What a relief that he didn’t have to stand out for half an hour!!
The boy was Me and the movie was Sholay.
Till the late 1970s, a good movie was the ultimate in entertainment and cricket was only a pastime – not even meriting a mention, let alone discussion at home. In terms of public interest, national pride and passion, hockey was way way above cricket. Asiad in 1982 transformed the entertainment landscape in the Indian home from listening to radio to watching television.
The decline of Indian hockey was taking firm roots, Kapil Devils brought the World Cup home in 1983, B&H World Championship in 1985, Sachin entered in 1989 followed by Mark Mascarenhas’ mantra for commercialization of Brand Sachin in the 1990s. Combine this with the fierce rivalry between India and Pakistan in cricket - the graudal ascent of cricket as mass entertainment began – having reached its pinnacle now, with T20 and IPL. Now Bollywood is fighting for its place under the sun while cricket rules.
“Appreciation of cricket” (which necessarily requires a reasonable knowledge of the game) has given way to “attraction for cricket” (eyeballs for cricketing eyecandies like sixers and fours) and the connoisseurs have been pushed into backseat by the advertisers and the masses.
(To be concluded)
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There is no statistical tool to take qualitative factors such as 'match situation' at the time of each player's 'entry' and 'exit', importance of the match (opener, equalizer, decider, dead rubber, etc) - these reside only in public memory.
Don't jump to your sentiment-based conclusions in haste.
Anyways, u can make ur assesments. but the 100 innings gap can cause some misjudgments
Thanks for informing me about this. Will study this too.
I am not looking at only numbers - Dravid wins in that case since he has scored more runs, faced more balls, taken more time (all important in test cricket, unlike ODI which is quickfire - hit and get out!). I have already given a "concession" to Sehwag and have called it a "tie".
I am stuck in 'going beyond numbers' to assess who has been more valuable.
It doesn't matter to me if the study is only upto 2006 - by then Dravid had completed his 135 innings - who knows how Sehwag will do in the next 100 innings.
According to the study you have quoted, Dravid scores over Sehwag and Sachin on many parameters.
Anyway I will try to do it my own way, not get influenced by them.
Other than in IPL days, Movies mostly rule over the youth. N the kind of response football WC n EPL is increasing in India, mayb in 5 yrs time, we might see Man U vs Chelsea get more TRPs than an Indian Odi.
Nice piece..yet again, from your kitty. This one has a mass appeal and connect.
You should change your name to 'ready2die4dravid'
:-)