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Aravinda de Silva vs Inzamam-ul-Haq?

Jang

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Who is a better batsman out of these two? both usually batted at number 4 position for their countries
 
Aravinda was an absolutely brilliant batsman, but Inzamam was in a different class.
 
Don't rely on stats. Most of us watched both play, growing up. :afridi

We did but stats do give some twists..

Personally Aravinda was one of my favorites back in the days with Attapatu ...but Inzamam was a different class too..
 
We did but stats do give some twists..

Personally Aravinda was one of my favorites back in the days with Attapatu ...but Inzamam was a different class too..

In my opinion both Inzamam and Aravinda underachieved.
 
I think its better to match arvinda with saleem malik or ijaz, inzi have much bigger stature
 
Its really hard to say.

Aravinda was amazing.

Inzi too.

Overall, I think Inzi should edge out Aravinda in ODIs and win easily in Tests.
 
Both were below the rank of ATG.

I think the innings Aravinda played in SF and Final of 1996 WC, are two of the best counter attacks I have seen in ODI cricket.
 
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Aravinda....champion cricketer. Hardly any controversy throughout his career.
 
Injamam was a masterclass from the very beginning since his debut and was consistent throughout his carrier. Aravinda flourished in his later half of his carrier.Stats also speaks clearly in favor of Inji
 
De Silva was kinda similar to Mark Waugh in the sense that when he did click - he could destroy the best bowlers in the business. But he lacked consistency just like Waugh.
 
De Silva was kinda similar to Mark Waugh in the sense that when he did click - he could destroy the best bowlers in the business. But he lacked consistency just like Waugh.

Most of his TEST 100s are against India and Pakistan.. and India certainly didn't have great bowlers to destroy.

I don't recall him destroying WI/Aus/SA bowlers ever in Test matches.
 
Most of his TEST 100s are against India and Pakistan.. and India certainly didn't have great bowlers to destroy.

I don't recall him destroying WI/Aus/SA bowlers ever in Test matches.

Mainly Pakistan. I remember him taking on Wasim, Waqar, Saqi and that was a deadly attack. Yeah but I watched him mostly in ODI's so I wasn't rating his ability on Tests as much. Inzi was a better batsman for me anyway.
 
Mainly Pakistan. I remember him taking on Wasim, Waqar, Saqi and that was a deadly attack. Yeah but I watched him mostly in ODI's so I wasn't rating his ability on Tests as much. Inzi was a better batsman for me anyway.

Even in ODIs also more than half of his centuries came against Pak and India. Only 2 against Aus and rest against Zim and Kenya.
 
You got to love these Indians and their threads :P

First it was Imran Khan vs Kapil, now it is Inzi vs Da Silva and next would be Wasim Akram vs Zaheer Khan. The irony is that there is always a random Indian who can provide a statistical post where Zaheer is indeed superior than Wasim :))

And another thing: you always find [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] taking the non-Pakistani's side :))) :)))
 
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^ Both were great players, Aravinda just edges it for me and I don't rely on stats. I don't know who averages what.

What I remember is Aravinda was a great back foot player and took on top quality fast bowlers against whom Inzamam struggled. I don't care what the stats say, I'm relying on my eyes and memory.
 
You got to love these Indians and their threads :P

First it was Imran Khan vs Kapil, now it is Inzi vs Da Silva

You should save some love for Pakistanis ;)

Based on his previous posts, he seems a Pakistani fan to me. Jang - Are you an Indian fan? If yes, then sorry for confusing with you some one else.
 
And the World Cup final hundred, one of the finest ODI knock to date, also adds to my assessment of Aravinda being a superior batsman. Not by much but just a little perhaps.
 
Judging on stats, Inzamam is far better.

But I would prefer Arvinda for bigger matches. Don't think Inzy had in him to handle big ICC tourneys.
 
Judging on stats, Inzamam is far better.

But I would prefer Arvinda for bigger matches. Don't think Inzy had in him to handle big ICC tourneys.
lol obviously his performances in the 92 WC don't count now do they?
 
his 60 off 37 was very very helpful in the semi final.

He wasn't feeling well and didn't want to play that match Miandad also didn't want him to play, luckily Imran did play him :)) The innings in the final was very helpful as well.
 
Great innings in pressure should be accounted for.

But they can't be the final deciding aspect or else a guy like KP would be rated far far higher in tests than what he is now.

Overall, Aravinda was great.

Loved watching him bat. Used to fear him a lot.

But I think Inzi does look like he is edging him out in ODIs.

Maybe if someone does a deeper analysis of ODI stats of these 2, we could know better.
 
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Averages 22 in that World Cup. No hundred and one 50 in 10 matces. :nehra

Was crucial in us winning the WC. All that matters.

Inzamam takes this one pretty easily, IMO. Much better pressure player, match-winner and had that extra something.

Just checked De Silvas stats and I fail to see how this is even a comparison at the test level.
 
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Depends if there was a brand new sports car in it for Aravinda or not.
[MENTION=134867]Kiri[/MENTION] and other Lankans on PP should understand.

Apparently he played like mad max when there were sports cars involved as prizes.
 
Aravinda was my hero growing up. Tried to model my batting after him.

But Inzi takes this. His list of achievements dwarfs Aravinda I'm afraid.
 
Inzimam any day..... however, I do believe that he under achieved in the end. he indeed was a different class altogether however he just couldnt do complete justice to his potential. On the other hand Arvinda did make most of his limited abilities in the initial period of his carrer and with time he became more sure of himself and i think it would not be wrong to say that todays Sri lanka team owes a lot to Arvinda.....
 
Depends if there was a brand new sports car in it for Aravinda or not.
[MENTION=134867]Kiri[/MENTION] and other Lankans on PP should understand.

Apparently he played like mad max when there were sports cars involved as prizes.

Sadly, I didn't watch during his time.

So I think someone like [MENTION=132270]SL_Fan[/MENTION] or [MENTION=136302]Haz95[/MENTION] is better suited to answer.
 
Like Sangakkara said "I might have more runs then them(Arvinda De Silva and Ranatunga) but they were the pioneers of cricket". If it wasn't for De Silva and Ranatunga passion for cricket would have died down remember, SL was a minnow.
 
This comparison is like comparing Shakib al hasan(pretend he helped Bangladesh win 2011 WC) and comparing Shehwag. Arvinda might had done more contribution to SL cricket and cricket in SL than Inzi.
 
Arvinda was a brave player and perhaps a better judge of taking singles and converting them into doubles.
Inzi was an even braver player. Inzi was NOT lazy but an absolute poor judge of a single and lacked the ability of converting them into doubles after his confidence of running between the wickets was shattered.
The amount of times Inzi got run out and obstructed out, gives Arvinda an edge of better mental alertness.
 
Aravinda was amazing in the '96 QF/SF and for a few yrs after that. Overall, Inzi was a much better player in both formats. Without Desilva SL might not have won the SF, and without Inzi, Pakistan might not have won the '92 SF. Inzi in the final was great as well, and lack of hundreds can't go against Inzi then cuz he came lower down the order.

When Aravinda peaked, Inzi went missing (late 90s), but then Inzi had a resurgence in last 5 yrs of his career and really held Pakistan together across both formats. Inzi for me, both ODI/Tests.
 
Inzamam is comfortably the better test player, Aravinda has done nothing much compared to him. However both underachieved considering their raw talent. In ODI's Aravinda edges it he was the better clutch player and matchwinner with the bat despite playing for a far weaker team. Aravinda's worldcup record is insane, his superior fielding and useful part time bowling means I will pick him every time before Inzamam in limited overs cricket.
 
What Aravinda did in the 1996 final is something Inzamam can only dream of doing 3 wickets with the ball and an unbeaten century. Aravinda was the ultimate clutch player in ODI's along with Ponting.
 
What Aravinda did in the 1996 final is something Inzamam can only dream of doing 3 wickets with the ball and an unbeaten century. Aravinda was the ultimate clutch player in ODI's along with Ponting.

Inzi played one of the best Under-pressure innings in the 92 WC SF and that on Bouncy pitches of NZ, the 60 something for me was best ever innings played by a Pakistani in WC
 
Inzamam is comfortably the better test player, Aravinda has done nothing much compared to him. However both underachieved considering their raw talent. In ODI's Aravinda edges it he was the better clutch player and matchwinner with the bat despite playing for a far weaker team. Aravinda's worldcup record is insane, his superior fielding and useful part time bowling means I will pick him every time before Inzamam in limited overs cricket.

Bowling skills do not matter here , if we pick up a xi we will go with 4 - 5 quality batters , not look to pack in batters who can bowl a bit.
 
Inzi played one of the best Under-pressure innings in the 92 WC SF and that on Bouncy pitches of NZ, the 60 something for me was best ever innings played by a Pakistani in WC

Yes, in that match Imran did everything to lose the match, 43 runs of 93 balls chasing 260+ is a crime. Had Inzamam not saved the day for Pakistan, Imran would turn out to be the villain as opposed to the hero he finally became.

Inzamam's heroics hid the slow and painful innings of Imran. Imran's innings that day was a disgrace.
 
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What Aravinda did in the 1996 final is something Inzamam can only dream of doing 3 wickets with the ball and an unbeaten century. Aravinda was the ultimate clutch player in ODI's along with Ponting.

Aravinda didn't exactly fire in ODIs overall..
 
[MENTION=74271]O[/MENTION]P start a thread and compare players, you just don't write one sentence like that. Kindly tell what kind of comparison you are doing, is it test cricket OR ODI OR overall. You also provide us with stats of each player.
 
[MENTION=74271]O[/MENTION]P start a thread and compare players, you just don't write one sentence like that. Kindly tell what kind of comparison you are doing, is it test cricket OR ODI OR overall. You also provide us with stats of each player.

You can always get stats from cricinfo. Why should OP provide it ?
 
ADS had a lot more elegance, and was a better batsman when in "full flow". Bowled a bit too, and was a good fielder/runner between the wickets.

I'll go with Arvinda. :murali
 
Inzamam in tests by a long way, and Aravinda in ODI's just slightly ahead because of his stellar record in WC's and tournament finals.

Again, i feel Aravinda is one of those batsmen who is slightly over rated because he looked so good while batting. His was an absolute home bully in tests.
 
Inzamam in tests by a long way, and Aravinda in ODI's just slightly ahead because of his stellar record in WC's and tournament finals.

Again, i feel Aravinda is one of those batsmen who is slightly over rated because he looked so good while batting. His was an absolute home bully in tests.

He only had one good WC while participating in 4 or 5 I think.
 
He only had one good WC while participating in 4 or 5 I think.

Yup, i just checked and you're right. I said that because i remember him playing a few decent knocks in 2003 WC as well. He completely failed in all other WC's apart from 1996 and 2003.

I guess i would take Inzamam over Aravinda any day of the week, when you combine both formats.
 
Yes, in that match Imran did everything to lose the match, 43 runs of 93 balls chasing 260+ is a crime. Had Inzamam not saved the day for Pakistan, Imran would turn out to be the villain as opposed to the hero he finally became.

Inzamam's heroics hid the slow and painful innings of Imran. Imran's innings that day was a disgrace.

In those days that was the trend start slow and accelerate at the end, we did same in the final, Imran knew that Inzi and Wasim would cover it up
 
In tests neither batsmen are that special. Aravinda's test record is ordinary and Inzamam is no closer to being a test great than Sangakkara is.
 
In those days that was the trend start slow and accelerate at the end, we did same in the final, Imran knew that Inzi and Wasim would cover it up

I am talking about SF, when you are chasing 260+ you don't score at SR of less than 50. It would be foolish to assume that he knew about Inzamam's coming fireworks.

You should not defend a bad innings by Imran. If Inzy hadn't turned up, I am sure people would blame Imran. He was just lucky it didn't get highlighted.
 
Aravinda didn't exactly fire in ODIs overall..

in 1996 Semi Final, De Silva hit 66 at the strike rate of 140 after losing Jayasuriya and Kalu while living on soup for the last 3 days, he had constant Diarrhea and vomiting. De Silva has won more matches for SL, pulled SL from hardship, helped in a lot of losing battles. His stats doesn't tell all those hard work.
 
De Silva is quite underrated on PP. He was a very good batsman and a useful bowler as well. Inzi is on the other hand damn good but extremely overrated with folks putting him on Lara and Tendulkar's level by perverting stats in a desperately sad attempt to make him look good or even better!

I would say Inzi > De Silva even after all this misrating business.
 
in 1996 Semi Final, De Silva hit 66 at the strike rate of 140 after losing Jayasuriya and Kalu while living on soup for the last 3 days, he had constant Diarrhea and vomiting. De Silva has won more matches for SL, pulled SL from hardship, helped in a lot of losing battles. His stats doesn't tell all those hard work.

Buddy, don't tell me about WC SF, I know the pain :)

I am talking about his overall ODI performance. His WC 1996 performance has no doubt over it, and SF and final were two of the better innings played in the WC history.
 
Inzamam was a talented player but not in Aravinda De Silva's league for me. I am not a huge fan of statistics nor do I think they should be used as the only benchmark to compare batsmen. Statistically Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are better batsmen than Aravinda De Silva (and Inzy) but De Silva still remains Sri Lanka's greatest batsmen for me.

Tbh I dont even rate Inzy as Pakistan's best batsman of the modern era- that accolade belongs to Saeed Anwar for me. Unlike Inzy who played alongside world class such as Akram, Waqar, Akthar, Ijaz, Saeed Anwar, Saqlain, Mushi etc.... Aravinda de silva had no such luck the Sri Lanka side he represented for the most part did not have one other great player - name me one?? Hence this was a much bigger burden on De Silva than Inzy and De Silva was very much a match winner not a saver who played for personal records.

People have praised Inzy for his ability to play fast bowling. But lets not kid ourselves here, Aravinda de silva for me is the greatest player of pace bowling ever (certainly in his era). You only have to look at the number of centuries he racked up against Pakistan - who boasted the likes of Waqar and Wasim in their primes. I still remember him securing his first century against Pakistan by hitting a six of Imran Khan bouncer on 94*. He abused Mohammed Zahid (widely considered by many to be the fastest bowler of all time) and savaged Brett Lee in his "twilight" in WC 2003- hitting him all over centurion. Nobody could pull or hook like De Silva as testified by Srinath who rates him as the best player of fast bowling.

Inzy was good but not in De Silva's league for me.
 
Aravinda was a beast. Total class. But he was not consistent.

Inzi was more reliable I think. But did not have the array of shots that Aravinda had.

There was a time, Aravinda along with Tendu, Lara and Mark Waugh were considered the best batsmen in the world.
 
Well, kind of amusing that people are saying that Aravinda is underrated. Yeah, he was a good batsmen that had a great purple patch which included helping in winning the WC, surely a Sri Lankan legend. But Inzi also helped Pakistan in winning a WC. Inzi's semifinal performance is greater than Aravinda's famous semifinal performance, and I would say Inzi is underrated here as a player who was instrumental to helping Pakistan win it's only 50-over WC.

Inzi is surely better than him in both formats, marginally if looking at their peaks, and comfortably if considering the entire length of their careers.
 
Well, kind of amusing that people are saying that Aravinda is underrated. Yeah, he was a good batsmen that had a great purple patch which included helping in winning the WC, surely a Sri Lankan legend. But Inzi also helped Pakistan in winning a WC. Inzi's semifinal performance is greater than Aravinda's famous semifinal performance, and I would say Inzi is underrated here as a player who was instrumental to helping Pakistan win it's only 50-over WC.

There is small matter of Arvinda playing 107*(124) in finals immediately after the semis knock and that was against great Aus team. In Semis also, SL was in a big trouble. See the score card. The top 3 batsmen had put 2 runs total and they were back in dug out. He was not forced to play fast but he counter attacked brilliantly. One of the best counter attack I saw in 90s when team was in a huge trouble.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65190.html


Inzzy innings in semis was also a great one. IK did everything to not win that match in my opinion. You can't rely on someone playing 60(37) kind of knock , specially in 90s. But IK's 44(98) made sure that only way Pakistan would win was by a blinder. Thankfully a blinder came for Pakistan.
 
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Inzi was better player overall in comparison with Aravinda. De silva though was a late bloomer for SL...He only started to consistently perform in the mid 90's....

Inzi though was surely better than Aravinda...More consistent performer for Pakistan and I don't think it is a valid comparison unless you are comparing a certain phase in both players career. In terms of they entire career Inzi is head and shoulders above Aravinda...

But keeping that aside, I do feel that Inzi overall underachieved. He should have surely ended up with 10,000+ runs with more than 30 hundreds at 50+ average considering he played 200 test innings and 120 tests....
 
Most of his TEST 100s are against India and Pakistan.. and India certainly didn't have great bowlers to destroy.

I don't recall him destroying WI/Aus/SA bowlers ever in Test matches.

Loool. I've made this point before but unlike Inzy who had no/little pressure on his since he played in a side with many other great players. De Silva played for a rubbish Sri Lankan test side who had barely received test status and were generally regarded as minnows.

Anyhow, your point kind of baffles me nonetheless. Most of De Silva's test centuries have come against PAK - who by the way were probably the leading team at the time. No other player has scored as many test centuries as De Silva has. His centuries came against= IMRAN KHAN, Abdil Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram etc- WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FGS?? Thats one hell of an achievement for me.

As far his performances against AUS. His 167 at the Gabba for me ranks as the finest test century scored against them by a SL Batsmen - a sheer joy to watch that performance - in a rubbish SL side. Subsequent scores of 75 and 72 runs meant that he would pick up the man of the series award and averaged 105 for the tournament and racked up over 300 runs in total. He also picked up a MOM award against them in Sri Lanka if I remember correctly.

Glenn MgCrath put him in his toughest XI but not Inzamam

Shane warne rates him as the best SL batsman ever and admits that the Australian team would spend more time discussing/planning against Aravinda than any other player.

Dean Jones and Mark Taylor have all praised him.

NVM all the times he destroyed them at ODI level!

Aravinda had a touch of genius about him that Inzamam for me just never had. I still think Aravinda underachieved but I'd still place him far ahead of Inzamam- not even in the same league for me.
 
Inzi's semifinal performance is greater than Aravinda's famous semifinal performance, and I would say Inzi is underrated here as a player who was instrumental to helping Pakistan win it's only 50-over WC.

Loool Please I've never heard such nonsense in my life. Pakistan won the WC thanks mainly to Imran Khan's captaincy and Wasim Akram's genius bowling in the final. Inzy made a decent contribution but was a failure for the rest of the tournament. In comparison, DE sILVA's perfomance at the 1996 WC is the greatest I have ever seen- MOM In the finals and Semi finals.


De Silva's innings in the semi's was better than Inzy's . When he came to the crease - SRI lanka had ZERO runs on the board and had just lost their explosive openers in Jayasuriya and Kalu. Not to mention there were no other good batsmen in the team other than possibly Ranatunga. To score 66 runs of 47 balls was incredible. But not just that - the way he caressed the ball and his timing of the ball was sensational. Given the pressure of the situation and the way he played and that he did not have Javed Miandad at the other end an awesome knock
 
Loool. I've made this point before but unlike Inzy who had no/little pressure on his since he played in a side with many other great players. De Silva played for a rubbish Sri Lankan test side who had barely received test status and were generally regarded as minnows.

Anyhow, your point kind of baffles me nonetheless. Most of De Silva's test centuries have come against PAK - who by the way were probably the leading team at the time. No other player has scored as many test centuries as De Silva has. His centuries came against= IMRAN KHAN, Abdil Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram etc- WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FGS?? Thats one hell of an achievement for me.

As far his performances against AUS. His 167 at the Gabba for me ranks as the finest test century scored against them by a SL Batsmen - a sheer joy to watch that performance - in a rubbish SL side. Subsequent scores of 75 and 72 runs meant that he would pick up the man of the series award and averaged 105 for the tournament and racked up over 300 runs in total. He also picked up a MOM award against them in Sri Lanka if I remember correctly.

Glenn MgCrath put him in his toughest XI but not Inzamam

Shane warne rates him as the best SL batsman ever and admits that the Australian team would spend more time discussing/planning against Aravinda than any other player.

Dean Jones and Mark Taylor have all praised him.

NVM all the times he destroyed them at ODI level!

Aravinda had a touch of genius about him that Inzamam for me just never had. I still think Aravinda underachieved but I'd still place him far ahead of Inzamam- not even in the same league for me.

You seem to be another SL fanboy who just considers SL players to be the "best they have ever seen" .. there are many on this forum.

Inzy had a class with him.. which Aravinda could never have had. Playing in a rubbish team doesn't make you great. It's not Inzy's fault that he played in a great team.

Also, Inzy's 1992 WC SF was the best WC innings there could be.. though Aravinda also played good knocks in 1996.
 
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Yeah, dropped first ball.. a chance innings.. nothing serious. Also, any one can score a hundred against any team.. the point is what was his average in Aus/SA/WI etc.

Aravinda

Aus 38.63
Eng 37.91
NZ 45.76
SA 30.50
WI 40.0


Inzi

Aus 30.87
Eng 42.50
NZ 59.58
SA 31.78
WI 57.63
 
As some have pointed out that some wanna be Lankans (but actual Indians) here are too quick to make a call in favor of Arvinda despite the fact that Inzi has a much superior record in most countries...actually only behind De Silva in Australia and leading by 14-15 average in at least two countries!

Yet, if one looks at the same for Inzi vs (Insert Any Top Indian player here), despite similar kind of average gaps or closer in most countries, he will be 'Leagues Above Inzi' somehow...LOL what a country
 
Based on what I read. Whatmore criticized Ranatunga and De Silva for poor work ethic, a royal attitude, wanting to be treated like royalty and not being very supportive or encouraging towards youngsters



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Imran in a latest interview mentioned that inzi badly underachieved given the talent he had


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Imran in a latest interview mentioned that inzi badly underachieved given the talent he had


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It's an easy excuse.. everyone finally gets what they deserve.. talent is just a term used by failures to glorify. Even Kambli was said to be an underachiever with lots of "talent".

I can understand the injury excuse, though some would attribute that too with the fitness.. but talent is such an undefined term that can be safely used without any need to back it up.
 
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It's an easy excuse.. everyone finally gets what they deserve.. talent is just a term used by failures to glorify. Even Kambli was said to be an underachiever with lots of "talent".

Dude inzi even if he underachieved was not a failure by any means. This comparison with kambli is horribly flawed


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Dude inzi even if he underachieved was not a failure by any means. This comparison with kambli is horribly flawed


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Kambli just self destructed more than Inzy despite being doubly more "talented" than him, that explains his result.
 
Kambli just self destructed more than Inzy despite being doubly more "talented" than him, that explains his result.

Inzi never self destructed. Talent refers to your skills, abilities and the things you are capable of achieving, it doesn't actually mean you will achieve them.


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