Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are two of the finest Test batsman of all time. The two are the leading run-scorer for India when it comes to red-ball cricket. Tendulkar ended his career with 15,921 runs whereas Dravid scored 13,288 runs. Fans have had divided opinions on who was the better Test batsman among the two legends.
Recently, Wisden conducted an online poll on Facebook to determine who is India’s greatest Test batsman of all time. In the final poll, the top two batsmen remaining were Tendulkar and Dravid. More than 11,000 voted for the two legends of Indian cricket where Dravid narrowly defeated Tendulkar to be the greatest Test batsman.
Rahul Dravid greatest Indian Test batsman ever
Dravid won the competition with 52% votes to Tendulkar’s 48% in the epic final. Earlier in the semi-finals, Sachin overcame Virat Kohli and Dravid defeated Sunil Gavaskar. Later Gavaskar was able to beat Kohli in a poll between the two and secured the third position of the greatest Test batsman of India.
Ladies and gentlemen,
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) June 23, 2020
The winner, and India's greatest Test batsman …
RAHUL DRAVID 🔥
What a tight race that was!
Finally vote count 👉 https://t.co/0o2S6lt6Fz pic.twitter.com/9TIV6LEIIS
“Dravid ended with 52 per cent of the total votes – as many as 11,400 fans took part in the poll for the final – despite trailing at 42 per cent on Tuesday morning. Much like Dravid batted during his playing career, he dug in and fought back in the poll, eventually crossing the line with a decent lead at the very end,” said Wisden India in its report.
Rahul Dravid has always been praised for being a rock at the No. 3 position throughout his Test career. He had an overall career average of 52.31 in his 17-year long career. But it’s his Test record away from home which is more impressive as he averaged 53.03 batting at number 3 which is considered the most crucial position to bat in the longest format.
Tendulkar, on the other hand, is the only player in history to play 200 Test matches. In his 24 year career, he was able to dominate bowlers of both the 1990s and 2000s. He also averaged over 50 at home and overseas in Test cricket. The little master is still the only batsman to average over 40 in every Test-playing nation.
