Lara better than Tendulkar? Do you agree with Ponting?

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has rated Brian Lara ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, saying the West Indian batting ace helped his team win more matches.

"Sachin and Lara were the two stand-out batsmen for me. Lara won more games for his team than Sachin probably has. I'd lose more sleep as captain knowing Lara was coming in to bat next day than I would with Sachin," said Ponting.

"You always found a way to restrict Sachin if you needed to. Lara could turn it on in half an hour and take a game away from you. For me, it has never been about making hundreds, it is about winning games and series," he added.

In the backdrop of Ponting's comments, Rajneesh Gupta comes up with interesting statistical insights on Tendulkar and Lara's showing against Australia when Ponting was captain.

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If you look at the table below, it is clear that Tendulkar enjoyed a phenomenal run with the bat against Australia over the years, even during the period when they dominated world cricket under Ponting and his predecessor, Steve Waugh.

Compared to the Indian maestro, Lara’s record looks quite pale. While Tendulkar scored 1352 runs in 11 Tests, at an average of 71, with four centuries, Lara managed just 226 runs in four matches, at 48.

Tendulkar and Lara vs Australia when Ponting was the captain

(Note: Lara's tally includes one match for ICC World XI)

What is clear is the fact that Lara played a significant role in his country’s victories against Australia, scoring 751 runs in eight Test victories, at an average of 68.

On the other hand, Tendulkar scored 1407 runs in 16 Tests, at an average of 54.

India have traditionally struggled Down Under and Tendulkar is one of the rare Indian batsmen to do well there despite the team's failures.

Tendulkar vs Lara: Performance in WON matches vs Australia

Thus, a look at the overall records show that Tendulkar is way ahead of Lara in terms of matches played, having featured in 198 Tests against Lara's 131.

India won 70 of the 198 Tests in which Tendulkar played, for a win percentage of 35, while the West Indies, whose decline coincided with Lara's best years, have a win percentage of 24, with only 32 victories out of 131 in which the stylish left-hander played a part in.

Tendulkar vs Lara: Win-loss comparison

Interestingly, the two great batsmen have an almost identical record when it comes to winning matches for their respective countries despite the Indian having played more than double the number of Tests.

Tendulkar has scored 5862 runs at an average of 62 in the 70 Test victories he featured in for India. Similarly, Lara has made 2929 runs at an average of 61 in the 32 West Indian wins he has been a part of. 

Tendulkar vs Lara: Performance in WON matches

Tendulkar has the record for the most centuries in Test cricket, with 51 so far, out of which 20 have resulted in victories for a win percentage of 39.

Lara, who retired in 2007, hit just eight tons in victories for West Indies for win percentage of 23, while the loss percentage was 41 with 14 centuries of 34.

Tendulkar vs Lara: Summary of Test centuries