�Ganguly-Tendulkar as pair faced better quality bowlers than Rohit-Kohli�
NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has stacked up astonishing numbers while batting as a pair but when it comes to facing quality fast bowlers, the celebrated opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly had a far tougher job.
�An argument could be mounted that Kohli and Sharma are India�s best ever one-day batsmen. The obvious challengers would be the feted combination of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who tormented international bowlers for 15 years,� Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
Chappell then gave an example how during Ganguly-Tendulkar era, each international team had two quality fast bowlers.
�They (Tendulkar-Ganguly) spent bulk of that time opening together against some of the best fast-bowling combinations. Facing Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis from Pakistan; Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh of West Indies; Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee of Australia; Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock for South Africa; Lasith Malinga and Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka was a serious test of a batsman�s skill.�
Quoting a comment of Pakistani pace great Imran Khan that �you judge a man by his opponents�, Chappell said, �On the basis of the quality of the opposition, you�d have to lean towards Tendulkar and Ganguly.
�However, if you extrapolate their current figures to give Kohli the same number of innings as Tendulkar, and Sharma the equal of Ganguly, the current pair finish well in front,� he added.
Chappell acknowledged that the one indisputable argument was that Kohli and Sharma are the best ever white-ball combination.
�Their combined ODI and T20I records are excellent, with Kohli � averaging over 50 in both formats � at the unbelievable level. To be fair, Tendulkar played very little T20I cricket and Ganguly�s career was finished by the time the format blossomed,� he wrote.
He said even though Tendulkar led the way in being the first batsman to score an ODI double-century, Rohit has fine-tuned the art by scoring three doubles, with his monumental 264 against Sri Lanka sending the fans at Eden Gardens into a frenzy.
�Indian fans have been extremely fortunate to witness, close up, four of the best short-form batsmen of all time,� Chappell wrote. � PTI
