The other number 'fours' of Indian cricket

Mumbai Indians have recently announced that they are retiring Tendulkar’s Number 10 jersey. Team India will wish they could retire his Number 4 position in the Test line-up as well. With his impending retirement and a prospective tour of South Africa coming up, we are yet to come up with somebody who can deliver the goods on a frequent basis.

On the other hand, there is another school of thought – is batting at Number 4 easier compared to other positions in the line-up? Most batsmen and statisticians around the world would tend to agree. Number 4 walks out to bat more often than not when the opening batsmen have seen off the new ball, the early morning conditions and the patience of the opening bowlers. Even if one of them hasn’t, it is likely that the Number 3 would have done his job – he is, after all, supposed to the most dour batsman of the line-up. On the other hand, the Number 4 is further cushioned by the presence of proper batsmen/batting all-rounders at Numbers 5 and 6 followed by a wicketkeeper who should be able to bat and a bowling all-rounder/bowler who can hold his bat for quite some time at Number 8. This means that the Number 4’s responsibility is to cash in on the conditions and make as many runs as possible for his team in conditions which suit him – tiring bowlers, helpful batting conditions and batting to follow.

In the 21 years since Tendulkar took up the mantle of Number 4 from Vengsarkar, only three men (apart from nightwatchmen and a single innings each from Gambhir and Raina) have taken his place for a significant number of innings. This also has happened mostly when he was absent from work due to injury or otherwise. The suspects are usual – Laxman, Dravid and Ganguly. Notably all of them have come off with admirable results after the experience. We take a detailed look at their performances at that spot.

V.V.S. Laxman (11 innings, 500 runs @ 50.00, 1 century, 4 fifties) – While Laxman would be remembered forever for his epic 281 from Number 3 and the numerous second innings counter-attacks he launched from number 6, he did make good use of the limited opportunities he got at Number 4. Laxman averages exactly 50 from his 11 knocks batting here as compared to his career average of 45.97 although the figures were buttressed by his last 3 knocks a of 85,87 and 56 at this position against a comparatively weaker West Indies attack in 2011. In his support though, he batted the entire series at Number 4 (barring the last match where Raina was promoted to up the ante in an aborted chase of 180) and ended up with an average of 48. This was the longest stint he got at this position as India contemplated a possible retirement by Tendulkar after a successful World Cup campaign and started preparing itself for the aftermath. A year later, Laxman was out of the game while Sachin was still playing.

Leaving aside a solo innings at Brisbane, the only two other series were Laxman got an extended run at Number 4 was the low-profile away series against Zimbabwe in 2005 and the obscured-by-the-first IPL home series against South Africa in 2008. In the first, he made a stroke-filled 140 at Bulawayo as India thrashed Zimbabwe on its way to its first series victory outside the subcontinent in 18 years. Against South Africa, Laxman came up against a red-hot Steyn in Ahmedabad as India were bowled out for 76 in the first innings. In the second Test however, he scored a crucial first innings 50 which was instrumental in giving India a match-winning first innings lead on a cobra of a pitch in Kanpur.

Rahul Dravid (21 innings. 967 runs @ 53.16, 2 centuries, 6 fifties) - The Number 3 position will always be synonymous with Dravid but he did have his share of good times at Number 4 as well. While the averages may not be astronomically apart (53.16 as compared to a career average of 52.31), he did play more than a couple of useful knocks from this position. The first of these was a superlative 118 against Zimbabwe at Harare as he helped India take a first innings lead only to squander it and lose the match by 61 runs. His batting at Number 4 though was by chance as Kumble had been the nightwatchman in the first innings and he returned to Number 3 in the second innings and ground out a 115 ball 44 which, however, could not change India’s fate. Till 2004, he filled up this spot only in the case of a nightwatchman coming out to bat earlier. He did get his chance as a proper Number 4 when Sachin was forced to miss a Test series for the first time. Kaif took up his spot for the first Test match as Dravid batted one spot lower than his usual position. Another grim innings of 61 from 172 could not save India from a ten-wicket thrashing by the hosts.

His most crucial contributions at this position though came against West Indies in 2006. Having taken up the captaincy less than year earlier, he had combined with coach Greg Chappell for successes in ODI series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England but had come a cropper in Tests with a 1-0 defeat in Pakistan and 1-1 drawn series at home against England. The ODI leg of the West Indies tour had gone 4-1 to the hosts and, with Tendulkar out for the Tests and Ganguly out of favour, Dravid was not just the captain but the senior most figure in the team. He took to the responsibility like a fish to water and dropped himself to the pivotal Number 4 position from where he had scores of 49, 62, 146, 22, 81 and 68. The last two knocks were made on a brute of a pitch in Jamaica where the only other Indian batsman to pass 20 was Anil Kumble. These two knocks gave India its first victory in the Caribbean in 35 years and was also the first time India beat an opposition other than Zimbabwe outside the subcontinent in 20 years.

Sourav Ganguly (20 innings, 1188 runs @ 66.00, 3 centuries, 4 fifties) – One of the biggest ifs of Indian cricket has been the performance of Sourav Ganguly in Test matches. For someone of his ability and a batting average of 41.02 in ODIs, it is hard to imagine that he finished with an average of 42.17 in Test cricket. Ganguly started his career with that sublime 131 at Lords from Number 3 but was soon shunted down the order for the more conservative Rahul Dravid. He spent the rest of his career at Numbers 5 and 6. Lacking the reserves of patience which Laxman had and also the ability to call on a wicketkeeper who could bat for the most of his career, Ganguly ended with a record that, though being impressive, could have been far better.

His unfettered performances at Number 4 seem to agree to the fact. With an average of 66.00, Ganguly has outscored Laxman, Dravid and even the Little Master himself albeit considering a short span of twenty innings. When you put this figure in perspective with his career average, the difference is even more striking. His first knock at this slot was facilitated by that ever-nightwatchman Anil Kumble while his second one was a result of India experimenting with Nayan Mongia as an opener. Mongia would stay on as an opener for some more time at Ganguly took full advantage of that a year later when he thrashed the Sri Lankan bowling attack around at home with a partnership of 256 with Tendulkar en route to his then highest score of 173.

He would get a chance to bat at this position again about a year later against New Zealand in New Zealand. He scored a gritty 48 in the second innings of the second Test at Wellington but a sparkling 113 from Tendulkar meant that he would usurp that position for the third Test in Wellington. It was Ganguly though who was called on to chase 415 in the fourth innings and he went about in proper ODI fashion creaming 101 off 111 balls along with Rahul Dravid as the duo added 196 in 37.2 overs before the match was called off.

The next time he afforded himself in this opportunity was in the aforementioned series against Sri Lanka in 2001. With Tendulkar out due to injury and Kaif failing at Number 3, Ganguly sent Dravid up the order and promoted himself to Number 4. The result brought immediate results as he scored a stroke-filled unbeaten 98 and combined with Dravid to bring India back into the series with a victory in Kandy after the defeat in the first Test match at Galle. Second time round, the strategy did not work as Ganguly made 1 and 30 as India crashed to an innings defeat at Colombo.

Here after Ganguly made infrequent appearances at Number 4 – the most notable being his second innings 73 in a defeat at Melbourne in 2003. It was not until his comeback that he was given an opportunity to make a mark in this position.

After his fighting 51 in the first innings at Johannesburg paved the way for Sreesanth’s heroics in a historic victory, Ganguly was given a chance to bat at Number 4 in Cape Town as India juggled around their batting order in the second innings in an effort to accelerate the scoring. He had made 66 off 75 balls in India’s first innings score of 414 but the second time round he walked in with the score reading 6 for 2 and India only 47 in front. His partnership with Dravid took India to 90 before they again nosedived to 169 and let the South Africans into the game in the process.

His best though was reserved for the Pakistan series at home later that year. Ganguly had already scored a century on his home ground of Kolkata in India’s mammoth first innings score of 616 and he was called on to bat at Number 4 in the second innings as India made a bid to set up a good score and quickly enough. His response was a 58 ball 46. The next Test match at Bangalore saw him replacing the injured Tendulkar at Number 4. In the form of his life, Ganguly bonded with his long-time protégé Yuvraj Singh and powered India on to 626 after they had been 61 for 4 on the first morning. In the process, he eclipsed his aforementioned highest score of 173 and registered his sole Test match double century. He wasn’t clearly done as he returned to score 91 in the second innings as India marched towards a declaration. Pakistan escaped a Kumble onslaught by the skin of their teeth but Ganguly had redeemed himself after his comeback.

Thereafter, he batted twice at Number 4 – once against Sri Lanka to shield Tendulkar against the threat of Mendis and the last time against Australia at home again in a second innings effort to up the scoring rate. Which is pretty much remarkable, as considering Tendulkar’s voluminous record in ODIs, he should have been expected to set the targets more often than he should. At any other time and for any other team, Ganguly would have played more consistently at Number 4 and it would have been interesting to take a look at how he performed.