Kane Williamson Vs Cheteshwar Pujara in Tests - Batting comparison

[Majestic]

Let's have a look at batting averages of Williamson and Pujara in all major countries. Pujara has not played in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe so not counting them.

Aus- Pujara 47, Williamson 42, Winner- CP
SA - Pujara 31, Williamson 21, Winner- CP
Eng- Pujara 29, Williamson 30, Tied
NZ- Pujara 20, Williamson 65, Winner- KW
Ind- Pujara 56, Williamson 35, Winner-CP
SL- Pujara 90, Williamson 26, Winner- CP
WI- Pujara 20, Williamson 51, Winner- KW
UAE- Pujara DNP, Williamson 64

Based on these, it can be inferred that Pujara is better in Australia, South Africa, India and Sri Lanka. Williamson is better in NZ and WI. In UAE, Williamson has done well but given how good Pujara is against spin, I think he missed out from big runs in UAE.

Overall, it is a 4-2 in Pujara's favour but if we give Kane the winner for UAE success, it will still end up as 4-3 in Pujara's favour. So, as much a home track bully Pujara is, it seems Kane is an even bigger home track bully and also weak bowling bully too.

What do you think?

 

[MesonK]

Azhar Ali has better averages than Pujara in 4/5 SENA-WI.

And you already established that Pujara is better than Kane ... Does that mean Azhar Ali is better than Kane ?

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

I'd take Pujara over Williamson in India, Australia, Sri Lanka anyday in my team. Elsewhere, I'd have Williamson.

 

[Rajdeep]

Williamson is a tier 1 batsman and a borderline ATG. Pujara is way behind and not in the same class.

 

[Hasan123]

I would take Williamson just. But this is a very good comparison.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Azhar Ali has better averages than Pujara in 4/5 SENA-WI.

And you already established that Pujara is better than Kane ... Does that mean Azhar Ali is better than Kane ?

Well said.

Btw what's up with so many Pujara comparison threads?

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Azhar Ali has better averages than Pujara in 4/5 SENA-WI.

And you already established that Pujara is better than Kane ... Does that mean Azhar Ali is better than Kane ?

Gautam Gambir has better overall average in SENA than Azhar and Pujara and you already established that Azhar and Pujara are better than Williamson does that mean Gambhir is better than Kane.?

 

[OMB]

Well said.

Btw what's up with so many Pujara comparison threads?

Blame Michael Vaughan for this

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

This is another example where you actually need to watch the matches instead of just applying statsguru filters.

I will take Williamson ahead of Pujara because his presence is more assuring, he scores more runs and is the premier batsman of his team. Also he has a much higher ceiling.

 

[Ab Fan]

Pujara in India and Sri Lanka while Williamson everywhere else. Pujara doesn't have enough shots v/s pace to make an impact like Williamson does outside subcontinent. Williamson stats may give an indication that he is a proper home track bully but he is clearly a better batsman than that.

In an extremely testing condition v/s top bowling attack, Pujara can bat whole day but he will end up the day at 75(280). If Williamson bats two session only, he will be at 75(180). Hence, Pujara needs a Kohli type batsman to come next and maximize the total.

 

[BaankeJi]

Let's have a look at batting averages of Williamson and Pujara in all major countries. Pujara has not played in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe so not counting them.

Aus- Pujara 47, Williamson 42, Winner- CP
SA - Pujara 31, Williamson 21, Winner- CP
Eng- Pujara 29, Williamson 30, Tied
NZ- Pujara 20, Williamson 65, Winner- KW
Ind- Pujara 56, Williamson 35, Winner-CP
SL- Pujara 90, Williamson 26, Winner- CP
WI- Pujara 20, Williamson 51, Winner- KW
UAE- Pujara DNP, Williamson 64

Based on these, it can be inferred that Pujara is better in Australia, South Africa, India and Sri Lanka. Williamson is better in NZ and WI. In UAE, Williamson has done well but given how good Pujara is against spin, I think he missed out from big runs in UAE.

Overall, it is a 4-2 in Pujara's favour but if we give Kane the winner for UAE success, it will still end up as 4-3 in Pujara's favour. So, as much a home track bully Pujara is, it seems Kane is an even bigger home track bully and also weak bowling bully too.

What do you think?

How many games at each place?Bigger sample size makes for a fairer comparison.
Bigger sample size invalidates the arguments as higher ceiling, greater talent etc.

 

[UzmanBeast]

Williamson hasn't really put up record-breaking performances in the subcontinent which is why I rate him behind the likes of Kohli and Smith.

New Zealand need to tour places like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan to see what they're made of.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Kane is better overall in all formats.

Pujara has this thing though in test cricket, which neither of the Big 3 have. Every now and then he absolutely takes over a test match or even series like a gangster. What he did to Aussies in 2018 is something the Big 3 can never do. That's just his unique thing.

 

[MesonK]

Gautam Gambir has better overall average in SENA than Azhar and Pujara and you already established that Azhar and Pujara are better than Williamson does that mean Gambhir is better than Kane.?

Your whole logic is wrong. Gambhir cant be compared to these men. why I will explain

1) GG is not from Azhar, Pujara or Kanes generation, he never faced resurged attacks of Austrailia, WI, NZ, SA that Azhar or Pujara, Kane face. He played against different set of oppositions. Also he played in ATG batting lineup something that Azhar, Pujara never have.

2) His sample size is like half of Azhar, Kanes or Pujara.

For the sake of argument we can compare Azhar against two Indians though and see what happens.

Azhar/Pujara/Gambhir in SENAWI ... Still AA easily takes this against both Indians 3/5 against Gambhir and 4/5 against Pujara ... Playing in far weaker batting Side Azhar is just level above.

vs AUS .... 52/47/22 (Winner AA>CP>GG)
vs WI .... 41/20/NP (Winner AA>CP, GG)
vs ENG .... 33/29/12 (Winner AA>CP>GG) GG was a joke ENG
vs NZ .... 35/20/89 (Winner GG>AA>CP)
vs SA .... 17/31/60 (Winner GG>CP>AA)

100s in SENAWI

5(including unbeaten 200)/5/2

Azhar stomps both Pujara and Gambhir in SENAWI. Unlucky for him he never had the chance boost up his average above 50 playing in true home Pakistan. Still he might end his career at 7.5-8K @45 with a superb SENAWI record (2nd best after Kohli from Asia)

 

[AMSS]

Pujara has remarkably similar numbers to Root.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Your whole logic is wrong. Gambhir cant be compared to these men. why I will explain

1) GG is not from Azhar, Pujara or Kanes generation, he never faced resurged attacks of Austrailia, WI, NZ, SA that Azhar or Pujara, Kane face. He played against different set of oppositions. Also he played in ATG batting lineup something that Azhar, Pujara never have.

2) His sample size is like half of Azhar, Kanes or Pujara.

For the sake of argument we can compare Azhar against two Indians though and see what happens.

Azhar/Pujara/Gambhir in SENAWI ... Still AA easily takes this against both Indians 3/5 against Gambhir and 4/5 against Pujara ... Playing in far weaker batting Side Azhar is just level above.

vs AUS .... 52/47/22 (Winner AA>CP>GG)
vs WI .... 41/20/NP (Winner AA>CP, GG)
vs ENG .... 33/29/12 (Winner AA>CP>GG) GG was a joke ENG
vs NZ .... 35/20/89 (Winner GG>AA>CP)
vs SA .... 17/31/60 (Winner GG>CP>AA)

100s in SENAWI

5(including unbeaten 200)/5/2

Azhar stomps both Pujara and Gambhir in SENAWI. Unlucky for him he never had the chance boost up his average above 50 playing in true home Pakistan. Still he might end his career at 7.5-8K @45 with a superb SENAWI record (2nd best after Kohli from Asia)

Gambhir never played in Windies. So that's 2/2 and overall Gambhir has a higher SENA average 37 vs Azhar alis 36. So automatically Gambhir stomps all over Azhar ali. Don't try 3d chess with me.

 

[MesonK]

Gambhir never played in Windies. So that's 2/2 and overall Gambhir has a higher SENA average 37 vs Azhar alis 36. So automatically Gambhir stomps all over Azhar ali. Don't try 3d chess with me.

Your failed again ... I will explain why ...

Its not Azhar Ali's fault that Gaumbhir couldn't make into WI tours. Even if he would have played in WI, going by his overall bad stats against weak WI in his own home India (average of 39 is weak compared to other Indians of same generation) and his joke like stats in Eng and Australia one can estimate how bad he would have fared against highly skilled trio of Gab-Holder-Roach (500 tests wickets at 28 average, 24 at home). Thats the attack that Azhar, Kohli and Pujaras generation faced in WI their entire career. Kohli averages 35 against these men and Pujara stands at 20. Gambhir by every means was a weaker batsmen then Kohli so where do you think he would have stood with his stats in WI of 2010s ? Azhar Ali stomps over Pujara in 3/5 SENAWI and he would have done same to Gambhir had Gambhir played in WI, just like his stomps over Gambhir in England and AUS. If Gambhir did not play in WI then its not Azhars fault whose WI average is higher than both Kohli and Pujara.

besides, Gambhir's sample size is like tiny compared to that of Azhar Ali. Azhar played 62 innings in SENAWI while Gambhir merely has played 28 Innings. Thats less than half of what Azhar has played. 18 of 28 overall SENWI innings of Gambhir were played in England and Austrailia where he has a glorious average of ... guess ... 17 while Azhar Ali while playing 39 innings in Austrailia and England scored at average of 43 ... LOL ... That is the difference. People think Gambhir was just some Sangakarra level God who was wronged by Indian selectors. Truth is he was exposed worst way in England and AUS where he averages 17 in 18 innings. He feasted on weak NZ attacks in overall 3-4 innings he played in NZ in his entire career and thats it (mind you not the NZ of boult, Southee, Jaimseon, ferguson). He was dropped and India quickly moved to Sharma, Kohli, Pujara, Dhawan ... all superior options.

Gambhir overall stats wise is way lesser test batsmen in every aspect compared to Azhar. IMO just on basis of generation gap alone he cant be compared to these men. They never faced same opposition. But for sake of argument ... he fails.

 

[Ab Fan]

I don't understand a very simple thing.

Why would you not count runs in and against Sri Lanka if you count runs in and against West Indies? Sri Lanka have been ranked higher than Windies consistently over last decade. They had Herath who alone has 400+ test wickets and his home average is 23 which makes him a much superior bowler to any of the Windies pacers.

Another point is why would you count away runs vs WI but not count home runs vs SENA teams? If filter needs to be used, use a basic one like top 8 teams or top 6 teams. What is this- five teams away from home and that includes an 8th ranked Windies team?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Williamson > Azhar Ali > Pujara

 

[ravisurya]

Williamson is on a different level to Pujara but lol at guys trying to bring in Azhar Ali.

 

[Hasan123]

Lol at people trying to big Azhar into this. No one outside of Pakistan gives a cares about him. I like Azhar but he is a solid test batter and should not be compared with the top test players of this era or even Pujara.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Williamson is Rolls Royce. Smooth and classy.
Pujara is an efficient Large family Van. Will help you keep safe and take you to your destination.
Williamson Is Fab 4 in all formats.
Pujara is top 10 batters in test cricket only.
But, Pujara is an invaluable player for any test team, not fancy but does the job like a family loved old car.

 

[Ab Fan]

Williamson is Rolls Royce. Smooth and classy.
Pujara is an efficient Large family Van. Will help you keep safe and take you to your destination.
Williamson Is Fab 4 in all formats.
Pujara is top 10 batters in test cricket only.
But, Pujara is an invaluable player for any test team, not fancy but does the job like a family loved old car.

Among test players that are active,

Fab 4
Warner
Taylor
Pujara

And then the likes of Babar, QDk and Marnus etc.

 

[street cricketer]

I don't understand a very simple thing.

Why would you not count runs in and against Sri Lanka if you count runs in and against West Indies? Sri Lanka have been ranked higher than Windies consistently over last decade. They had Herath who alone has 400+ test wickets and his home average is 23 which makes him a much superior bowler to any of the Windies pacers.

Another point is why would you count away runs vs WI but not count home runs vs SENA teams? If filter needs to be used, use a basic one like top 8 teams or top 6 teams. What is this- five teams away from home and that includes an 8th ranked Windies team?

I've seen two weird theories here to prove Azhar Ali as a better bat than Pujara.

1. Shoehorning West Indies into the SENA stats because apparently batting in the West Indies is very difficult as they boast of a fiery trio of quicks having 500 wickets at 28, nevermind Ashwin has scored 4 centuries against the same side and averages like Steve Smith against them with the bat. If you're going to include West Indies into the away stats, might as well include Sri Lanka too as Herath had a far more superior record with the ball at home and Sri Lanka and West Indies had similar conditions for the most part of the last decade.

2. That batting in the dead tracks of the UAE apparently handicapped Azhar as opposed to him batting in Pakistan. On one hand, people say bowlers get much better help in Pakistan than the dead tracks of UAE (which is true) but at the same time, you say batting in the UAE is more difficult than batting in Pakistan. I'm not even going into the irony of accusing India of winning matches at home by doctoring pitch into rank turners and at the same time, accusing Pujara of home track bullying when it's also extremely difficult to bat on rank turners. So which one is it..Or do the wickets become rank turners when Ashwin and Jadeja bowl and flat tracks when Pujara and Kohli bat..

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Among test players that are active,

Fab 4
Warner
Taylor
Pujara

And then the likes of Babar, QDk and Marnus etc.

Agreed. Marnus will be in the top 5 batters after Fab 4 retires. Babar has to do something special in Test Matches, well even ODI's to score those big centuries, like 150+ scores and 200s in Test matches, else some other younger players will take over.

 

[sindhiboy]

Among test players that are active,

Fab 4
Warner
Taylor
Pujara

And then the likes of Babar, QDk and Marnus etc.

I would say, based on the recent form of kohli and Smith,
Marnus may be the best test batsman in the world currently

 

[Ab Fan]

I would say, based on the recent form of kohli and Smith,
Marnus may be the best test batsman in the world currently

The current part is a subjective opinion because if we go by current form, Root has three scores of 180+ recently and Kane also has scored plenty of runs in the previous home season.

Marnus certainly is the best young test batsman in the world.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

The only young batsman who looks set on the path to become a future batting great is Marnus Labuschagne.

 

[shamaan]

I would definitely take Williamson 100 percent.