Five modern batting greats and their top adversaries

BANGALORE, INDIA – OCTOBER 12: Sachin Tendulkar of India is bowled by Peter George of Australia during day four of the Second Test match between India and Australia at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 12, 2010 in Bangalore, India.

Ever wondered how certain bowlers always get the better of some batsman, and how the body of language of the batsman suddenly changes upon the introduction of his nemesis. How easy it is for silly errors to creep into his game, ultimately leading to his wicket and another psychological boost for his nemesis. Here is a look at five modern day batting greats and their greatest adversaries in test match cricket:

5) Graeme Smith – (104 tests)

The strongly built Proteas test skipper and opening batsman, who became his country’s youngest captain at the age of 22 after the home team’s 2003 World Cup debacle, has often been suspect to the away swinging ball early on in his innings. Here are some of his greatest adversaries in test match cricket:

6 times = Zaheer Khan, India, 9 tests.

6 times = Chris Martin, New Zealand, 7 tests.

5 times = James Anderson, England, 14 tests.

5 times = Andrew Flintoff, England, 13 tests.

5 times = S Sreesanth, India, 9 tests.

5 times = Glenn McGrath, Australia, 6 tests.

4) Ricky Ponting – (168 tests)

The recently retired Aussie skipper has always been drawn into shots he should not be playing early on in his innings and has paid the price for often shuffling too far across the stumps and nudging at deliveries he shouldn’t normally poke at. Here are the bowlers who got him out on the most number of occasions:

10 times = Harbhajan Singh, India, 14 tests.

8 times = Darren Gough, England, 9 tests.

7 times = Anil Kumble, India, 17 tests.

7 times = Ishant Sharma, India, 8 tests.

6 times = Makhaya Ntini, South Africa, 15 tests.

6 times = Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka, 11 tests.

3) Steve Waugh – (168)

The former captain of the baggy greens and their most capped test player, who was famous for his chewing-gum and his leadership abilities, found the awkwardly rising ball tough to deal with at times, and below is proof of that:

11 times = Curtly Ambrose, West Indies, 23 tests.

10 times = Andrew Caddick, England, 17 tests.

5 times = Darren Gough, England, 16 tests.

5 times = Ian Bishop, West Indies, 9 tests.

4 times = Wasim Akram, Pakistan, 14 tests.

4 times = Anil Kumble, India, 9 tests.

2) Brian Lara – (131 tests)

The West Indian batting genius and one of my favourite batsman of all time could dance as he pleased on the crease and yet come up with shots that took your breath away, known for his grit, determination and his knack of scoring big hundreds, here are some who might just have troubled him on his off day :-

15 times : Glenn McGrath (Australia), 24 tests.

8 times : Andre Nel (South Africa), 6 tests.

7 times : Angus Fraser (England), 9 tests.

7 times : Shane Warne (Australia), 20 tests.

6 times : Andy Caddick (England), 14 tests.

6 times : Allan Donald (South Africa), 10 tests.

1) Sachin Tendulkar – (193 tests)

Quite easily one of the greatest batsman ever to grace the game, the Little Maestro, who has been a terror to bowlers all around the world, sometimes had his moments, and these are the bowlers who made the most of it:

8 times : Muttiah Muralidharan (Sri Lanka), 14 tests

8 times : James Anderson (England), 13 tests

6 times : Glenn McGrath (Australia), 9 tests

6 times : Jason Gillespie (Australia), 7 tests

5 times : Brett Lee (Australia), 11 tests