Viv vs smith vs lara. Who is better batsmen in subcontinent

[Sliferxxxx]

Excellent question.

Lara toured Asia 4 times. One bad series in India, horrible series in 1997 in Pakistan then an unrivaled atg series in 01 vs the goat spinner and Vaas and another great series vs an ok Pakistan attack in 2006.

Viv toured Asia 6 times 3 each to India and Pakistan. He had 2 good/great series and one mediocre series in India. In Pakistan he had one poor, one great and one mediocre

Smith played 10 series in Asia: 1 in Bang, 3 in India , 3 in SL and 3 in Pakistan. He had one bad series in each country except for SL. Otherwise he had good to great series in the other countries .

Among the 3, I'd give it to Smith.

 

[Johan]

Viv toured Asia 6 times 3 each to India and Pakistan. He had 2 good/great series and one mediocre series in India. In Pakistan he had one poor, one great and one mediocre

His 1986 Pakistan wasn't mediocre, Pakistan made some landmines to beat The West Indies, in that series only two batsmen even managed to average above 30, Viv Richards and Desmond Haynes, the latter doing it with a not out. The highest runscorer of the series was Javed Miandad with 176 runs in 6 innings, second highest was Viv Richards at 175 runs in 5 innings, third was Desmond Haynes with 149 runs in 5 innings.

In context of the wickets, good series overall.

Agree that it is probably Smith overall.

 

[Sliferxxxx]

His 1986 Pakistan wasn't mediocre, Pakistan made some landmines to beat The West Indies, in that series only two batsmen even managed to average above 30, Viv Richards and Desmond Haynes, the latter doing it with a not out. The highest runscorer of the series was Javed Miandad with 176 runs in 6 innings, second highest was Viv Richards at 175 runs in 5 innings, third was Desmond Haynes with 149 runs in 5 innings.

In context of the wickets, good series overall.

Agree that it is probably Smith overall.

No arguments from me. Well said.

 

[centurymaker]

Will wait till how Smith goes in India in 2026/27. He had one great series followed by one poor series. Others are retired players so only fair to compare once all have finished playing in Asia.

 

[Sliferxxxx]

Will wait till how Smith goes in India in 2026/27. He had one great series followed by one poor series. Others are retired players so only fair to compare once all have finished playing in Asia.

He also had a decent series there in 2013. Averaged 40 vs Jadeja, Ashwin and Bhuvi

 

[centurymaker]

He also had a decent series there in 2013. Averaged 40 vs Jadeja, Ashwin and Bhuvi

Yes, but he only featured in the last two of the four tests. He got 160 odd runs in 4 innings. Decent effort. That was Jadeja and Ashwin's first series together. Two months prior to this, Ashwin had been taken apart by Cook's England and Jadeja was still considered a hack. So they weren't established names till this series. Just learning their trade as much as Smith was as well. Let's wait and see how he goes against Kuldeep Sundar etc in 2026/27.

 

[OverratedSanity]

That was Jadeja and Ashwin's first series together. Two months prior to this, Ashwin had been taken apart by Cook's England and Jadeja was still considered a hack. So they weren't established names till this series.

Yes but they bowled superbly in that series and destroyed Australia, so you can't write it off, still counts as close to peak Ashwin-Jadeja imo. Smith's 90 odd at Mohali was the first sign for me that he could be a high quality batsman.

 

[centurymaker]

Mohali Test. Starc got out on 99, and that remains his highest score till date.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-tour-of-india-2012-13-598808/india-vs-australia-3rd-test-598814/full-scorecard

Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting had just retired prior to this series. Most of the Aussies were pretty clueless against spin is what I remember quite fondly, Ashwin and Jadeja reaped the benefits on mostly spinning tracks, gave India a template for future series.

 

[govinda indian fan]

Excellent question.

Lara toured Asia 4 times. One bad series in India, horrible series in 1997 in Pakistan then an unrivaled atg series in 01 vs the goat spinner and Vaas and another great series vs an ok Pakistan attack in 2006.

Viv toured Asia 6 times 3 each to India and Pakistan. He had 2 good/great series and one mediocre series in India. In Pakistan he had one poor, one great and one mediocre

Smith played 10 series in Asia: 1 in Bang, 3 in India , 3 in SL and 3 in Pakistan. He had one bad series in each country except for SL. Otherwise he had good to great series in the other countries .

Among the 3, I'd give it to Smith.

Smith played in pakistan once and uae once. Had good tour both times. Not particularly great. It baffels my mind why viv didn't had atg tour in 83. It should have been 500+ serires

 

[honestbharani]

Ashwin and Jadeja reaped the benefits on mostly spinning tracks, gave India a template for future series.

I dont think they were particularly spinning tracks that series. Mostly, they were just good SC tracks that took turn over the course of the game. IIRC, Aus won every toss too that series? Or maybe except the first one in Chennai.