Currently Majority of people thinks Steve Smith is not a superior batsman than Sachin Tendulkar or he is comparable to Sachin, based on their overall stats only
Which is completely fine
After 212 innings -
spd Smith - 10413 runs at 56.02 AVG with 36 100s and 43 fifties
Sachin - 10513 runs at 55.33 with 35 100s and 41 fifties.
But here's a detailed analysis on why Steve Smith is still the undisputed 2nd greatest Test batter of all time.
1- One of the funniest things about Sachin fans is their claim that he maintained a 57 average until 177 Tests.
But the reality is, he only managed to keep a 57+ career average for 34 out of his 200 matches.
Steve Smith has maintained a 57+ average for 71 out of 119 matches.
Well after excluding zimbabwe and Bangladesh he average reduced to 51 after 177 matches
And sachin never touched 60+ career average while Smith has maintained 60+ avg for about 41/43 matches.
Smith has maintained 55+ average for 81 consecutive matches and still going strong in comparison to Sachin who managed to keep his average 55+ for 65 consecutive matches.
2- i calculated the performance of Sachin and Smith against top 5 teams,
Sachin vs 90s top 5 teams sa, aus ,wi, pak ,ind + 00s eng,aus, sl ,sa,ind -8498 runs at 46.95 with 25 centuries .
Steve Smith vs Top 5 Teams(senai): 7514 runs (153 inns), 54.05 AVG, 27 centuries.
3- in Away + neutral conditions vs top 5
Smith -3763 runs at 53.00 AVG with 13 100s and 14 50s.
Sachin -4471 runs in 104 innings at an Average of 46.57 with 12 centuries.
4- For fair comparison we shouldn't count the Pink Ball matches for Smith as Sachin never had to deal with the Pink ball, similarly we shouldn't include zimbabwe and Bangladesh for Sachin because Smith never plays against them (although he played only 3 matches vs ban but they were doctored pitches unlike the 00 highways of Bangladesh).
After 212 innings vs Top 8 teams
Smith - 10358 runs at 56.60 AVG with 36 centuries and 42 50s
Sachin - 9307 runs at 52.58 AVG with 31 100s and 38 50s.
in red ball cricket Steve Smith has scored 35 centuries in just 188 innings at 59.27 AVG.
Smudge red ball average is still the best since Bradman.
5-thier performance at upper order batting position (1-3) After 212 innings
Steve Smith - 1915 runs in 37 innings at 59.84 AVG with 8 100s and 6 50s.
Sachin Tendulkar - 15 runs in 1 innings .
Batting at 1-3 position is considered as a more tougher job than batting at no 4 position.
6- Almost 90 percent of the time matches ended as draw matches because of very flat pitches and few times due to rains.
That's why almost all decent batsman averaged 50–70 in draw matches.
But there are only 5 batsman with min 6k runs averages 50+ in result oriented matches vs top 8 teams .
Steve Smith, abd , Steve waugh , ponting and Root.
In result oriented matches (non draw matches, which is the characteristics of WTC era )-
Steve Smith - 7495 runs at 54.70 AVG with 26 centuries in 87 matches.
Sachin Tendulkar -8629 runs at 45.17 AVG with 25 centuries in 115 matches .
In away condition vs top 8 teams in result oriented matches
Steve Smith -3982 runs at 53.09 AVG with 15 centuries.
Sachin Tendulkar - 4161 runs at 42.45 AVG with 13 centuries.
https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-cc19012218efea8e4aa693c803a051ac
Interesting stats only 5 batsman with min 2k runs averages 50+ in result oriented matches in away condition.
1- Jack Hobbs -59 AVG
2- Steve Waugh -59 AVG
3- Hammond - 58 AVG
4- Abd - 54 AVG
5- Steve Smith - 53 AVG .
7-Batting performance of Steve Smith and Sachin Tendulkar in test series where the average runs per wickets < 30 -
Steve Smith -3738 runs at 41.53 with 10 centuries.
Sachin Tendulkar -1887 runs at 33.10 AVG with 4 centuries.
8-Batting performance in the Tough pitches where both the teams struggled badly ( where the average runs per wicket is</=25 ) -
Steve Smith - has scored 1327 runs in 53 innings (29 Matches) at an average of 27.64 with 5 fifties and 2 centuries (his famous pune century and the iconic ashes century in a low scoring match at Sydney 2014).
Sachin Tendulkar - Scored 751 runs in 36 innings (20 matches) at an average of 22.08 with the help of 4 fifties (highest score-97).
9- laterally every decent batsman in 00 era inflated his average by 2 - 5 points by bashing minnows Bangladesh and zimbabwe but Steve Smith is yet to play a single match vs sl, zim ,ban at home.
10- Sachin Tendulkar Vs Strong Sena Teams in presence of thier best Bowlers -
Steve Smith Vs SENI in presence of thier best Bowlers- (didn't count Aswin because the 2014 attack was very poor Indian attack).
11- No of low scoring (where average runs per wickets </=30 )matches played by
Sachin Tendulkar - 55/ 200
Joe Root - 75/158
Virat Kohli -68/123
Steve Smith -56/119
In terms of innings -
Sachin -101 /329
Root -140/287
Kohli -121/210
Smith -104/212.
Smith has maintained his career average 60+ from 2016-2023 WTC final for 6+ years consistently.
Source - ESPNcricinfo statsguru