Azhar Ali vs Cheteshwar Pujara - Who is better in Tests?

[Bewal Express]

Azhar Ali has been very good Pakistan and Pujara has been sensational but the question is who is better now?

[panther]

pujara India yet to lose a match with him in there side.

[HASHAM2]

pujara India yet to lose a match with him in there side.

Pujara on South africa tour he was in indian squad
india lost first test match

[adnanulhaq97]

Pujara in these few matches for India looks much more technically sound. Azhar has 3 or 4 centuries in about 10+ Test Matches while Pugara already has 3 inclusing adouble hundred in just about 5

[HASHAM2]

Pakistan Middel order Line up Azhar,Younis,Misbah,Asad is comparable to Pujara,Sachin,Kohil,Yuvraj

[panther]

Pujara on South africa tour he was in indian squad
india lost first test match

He didn't play first test, india won the next test and draw the last.

[HASHAM2]

[QUOTE=adnanulhaq97;5309354]Pujara in these few matches for India looks much more technically sound. Azhar has 3 or 4 centuries in about 10+ Test Matches while Pugara already has 3 inclusing adouble hundred in just about 5[/QUOTE
Overall Our Middel order is comparable to Indian Middel order
Sachin is out of from
Kohil is not good in test as he is in Odi
Yuvraj is also not good in test his test average is 35

[HASHAM2]

He didn't play first test, india won the next test and draw the last.

Wait India will lose this test

[GentleMan]

too early to compare..but these are two good talents to come on the scene..hope both keep doing better

[Bewal Express]

Pujara seems to have more shots than Azhar but Azhar has played in more testing conditions.

[khalil1986]

Pujara in these few matches for India looks much more technically sound. Azhar has 3 or 4 centuries in about 10+ Test Matches while Pugara already has 3 inclusing adouble hundred in just about 5

How many games has Azhar Ali played on home soil? He has been playing exclusively away from home and still doing well. No doubt Pujara is an exciting prospect and may very well be better than Ali however he needs to play and score outside India before we start comparing.

[Austin 3:16]

Person A - Whose Better Azhar Ali or Pujara?
Person B - Azhar Ali
Person A - Kyon mazak kar rahe ho?
Person B - Suru kisne kiya tha??

[Ahson8]

too early to compare..but these are two good talents to come on the scene..hope both keep doing better

Couldn't have put it better. Two really good talents who will hopefully continue to flourish. Difficult to compare right now, maybe after a year a judgment can be passed

[Bilal7]

Too early to compare but Azhar Ali is the more established player.

[azimiqbal]

i gotta say even though i am pakistani pujara seem to be the better player, mainly because onces he is in he makes it count and already has a double hundred.

[PTI tsunami]

i gotta say even though i am pakistani pujara seem to be the better player, mainly because onces he is in he makes it count and already has a double hundred.

When he plays away from home then we will find out but I do think he has good technique

[Bullet Drive]

Knew this was coming but right now Azhar is the better player. Played all his cricket away from home and is averaging 45+ without playing in Pakistan. He also has no real quality batsman in the line up to look up to bar Younis whereas Pujara has Sehwag, Gambhir, Sachin & others.

[blackanhyellow]

People should reserve their judgement until both batsmen play in alien conditions (austrailia, england, south africa). We will know where azhar stands in the South africa series next year, not sure when the next India away series is for Pujara. Atm Pujara is in some serius form and Azhar is just okay in domestic after some really good performances against sri lanka/england.

[Random Aussie]

The best timing for a comparision thread is not after one bloke has just hit a double hundred and an unbeaten hundred.

But for the record, Pujara>Azhar Ali and i rate Azhar pretty highly.

[Saqs]

Pujara looks an amazing prospect. Has the hunger for big runs. And the temperament to go with it.

Keeps it simple as well.

[amlafan79]

i like them both but pujara looks better batsman..though ali is not much behind
his inning vs england was very good!

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Pujara is more dynamic despite having a great temprement and tecnique. Pujara for me easily

[Xoib]

yeah Azhar is very good but Pujara is another league.

[Down2Earth]

pujara's the best indian player right now. His technique is flawless and has all the shots. he's going to be around for a long time. Azhar ali is a top player too but pujara's better

[amlafan79]

u know guy is good when even after 200 not out other team cannot find one weakness!
granted its home conditions but even at home u cant have no weakness
he does has weakness but he just defends and eaves ball which can trouble him (and that is test cricket and the reason i rate even azhar ali very high )

i hope both these guys have a long career..

[azimiqbal]

well india is due to tour south africa we will find out then

[pakistanigoneaussie]

well india is due to tour south africa we will find out then

He did quite reasonably their before then got injured, plus the same can be said about put Batting order when they go to SA

[kungfu90]

Azhar Ali is more established player in the line up.

[khalil1986]

Azhar Ali is more established players in the line up.

Difference is getting established in Pakistan lineup isn't as difficult compared to the batting riches in India. No doubt Pujara is a lot more naturally talented (which doesn't alway matter :umarakmal) but can't say he is lacking in temparement either so best of luck to both of them world cricket needs some new stars with the old brigade fading fast.

[Itachi]

I don't know who is better but both can punish the english bowlers so i am happy with both lol.

[Osman]

too early to say for both

[delhi_dude]

who is this azhar ali ,,the fat guy or the other one?..i keep on confusing btw azhar ali and asad shafik..please koi dono ki photo laga do clarity ke lie

[musaarthali]

forget about comparison with Pujara

Musaarth Ali is better than Azhar ali..

[Ahson8]

who is this azhar ali ,,the fat guy or the other one?..i keep on confusing btw azhar ali and asad shafik..please koi dono ki photo laga do clarity ke lie

The fat guy

[Ahson8]

forget about comparison with Pujara

Musaarth Ali is better than Azhar ali..

Troll Alert

[straightdrive1]

C.Pujara is better,no doubt ;

Although some blind supporters might disagree.



Lets break their batting down to the important factors needed to be a good batsman:

*Technique-Pujara > Ali

*Temperment- Both pretty equal

*Elegance-Pujara > Ali



Azhar Ali : 27 years old


*List A debut :2000/1 *AVG : 45.92 with 5 hundreds


*FC Debut:2001/02 *AVG: 37.79 with 16 hundreds


C. Pujara : 24 years old

*List A debut : 2006 *AVG : 56.97 with 8 hundreds


*FC Debut: 2005 *AVG: 56.53 with 16 hundreds


Summary :

Pujara is younger but also less experienced than Azhar Ali ; but has a better average & more hundreds than A.Ali.

So in my opinion Pujara is better.

[Madplayer]

C.Pujara is better,no doubt ;

Although some blind supporters might disagree.



Lets break their batting down to the important factors needed to be a good batsman:

*Technique-Pujara > Ali

*Temperment- Both pretty equal

*Elegance-Pujara > Ali



Azhar Ali : 27 years old


*List A debut :2000/1 *AVG : 45.92 with 5 hundreds


*FC Debut:2001/02 *AVG: 37.79 with 16 hundreds


C. Pujara : 24 years old

*List A debut : 2006 *AVG : 56.97 with 8 hundreds


*FC Debut: 2005 *AVG: 56.53 with 16 hundreds


Summary :

Pujara is younger but also less experienced than Azhar Ali ; but has a better average & more hundreds than A.Ali.

So in my opinion Pujara is better.

Not saying azhar is better. But bowlers in Pakistan's domestic circuit challenge the batsmen more as compared to Indian domestic bowlers.. So its better to not compare their domestic performances.. And we should wait for pujara to play more matches..

[AZ]

Pujara is an eyesore of a batsman, Azhar Ali is way better than him.

[musaarthali]

Pujara is an eyesore of a batsman, Azhar Ali is way better than him.

:gayman

[AZ]

:gayman

?

[musaarthali]

?

:az

[Chromeuser]

Knew this was coming but right now Azhar is the better player. Played all his cricket away from home and is averaging 45+ without playing in Pakistan. He also has no real quality batsman in the line up to look up to bar Younis whereas Pujara has Sehwag, Gambhir, Sachin & others.

I don't buy this senseless logic of having quality batsmen in the lineup helps other batsman in scoring good runs

Azhar is not a kid and I don't think any good player needs quality batsmen in their team to score good runs.

Going by your logic I can say our trundlers don't have quality bowlers to look up to bar Zaheer thats why they r less successfull

Also in 2nd test against England all quality batsmen failed & alone Pujara smashed a century

[Singham]

I think Pujara has better technique to survive on bouncy tracks.

[delhi_dude]

Not saying azhar is better. But bowlers in Pakistan's domestic circuit challenge the batsmen more as compared to Indian domestic bowlers.. So its better to not compare their domestic performances.. And we should wait for pujara to play more matches..

i dont think pakistan domestic bowlers are good..what we are seeing is real mediocre bowlers in pakistan national team apart from ajmal..

[AZ]

:az

ba

[Sandeep]

They are not prospects anymore... They are performing! Great assets to their respective teams!

[lilFlip]

Pujara is performing really well. But its kinda depressing watching how Indian FTBs are so miserable against same bowlers in different conditions. Great innings' nevertheless by Pujara

Azhar could mean our rare series win in SA. And of course he was phenomenal in UAE/Eng before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSfmnSeAopQ

[Wassixpakistani]

Azhar is a match-winner/pressure player . His record would have been better but Of all the places to debut in this batting friendly era , he had to make it in England .. against Australia ! Dougy and Hilfy were a menace on those pitches and later on had to face a threatening England attack on some of the most greenest pitches in this decade * No Exaggeration * and to note the only seniors to guide him were the golden trio of Immy , SB and Mirza Sahib barring Yousuf in the last two tests against England .

Still the guy showed grits and didn't roll over like many did on that tour . Without him , we would have had nothing to show for our drubbing that summer .

Apart from those first six tests , he's been a pretty consistent performer scoring against all oppositions and he's getting better and better .

Pujara looks well set to secure a spot in the line-up for a long time . The special trait I see about him is his ability to cash-in and score big despite pressure , which many young Int. batsmen lack . If he can stay consistent and play the odd match-winning knock , I don't see him anywhere but in the Top 10 easily .

Both are at level for me , great assets for their teams nonetheless .

[Bilal7]

Azhar Ali had a satisfactory series in England, Pujara failed in South Africa.
Judging our players by performances in the sub-continent does not show any great difference, Asad Shafiq is also comparable to the other two because of his clutch innings in the UAE and Sri Lanka.

They will both be facing up to Steyn and co. in Sotuh Africa next year, best to compare them then.

[Madplayer]

i dont think pakistan domestic bowlers are good..what we are seeing is real mediocre bowlers in pakistan national team apart from ajmal..

U didnt get my point. I didnt say Pakistan's domestic bowlers are world beaters. Its just that no matter how poor they are as compared to aussie or SA domestic bowlers, they are certainly way better than Indian domestic bowlers so they pose a bigger challenge to the batsman..

[thewrongUn]

C.Pujara is better,no doubt ;

Although some blind supporters might disagree.



Lets break their batting down to the important factors needed to be a good batsman:

*Technique-Pujara > Ali

*Temperment- Both pretty equal

*Elegance-Pujara > Ali



Azhar Ali : 27 year


*List A debut :2000/1 *AVG : 45.92 with 5 hundreds


*FC Debut:2001/02 *AVG: 37.79 with 16 hundreds


C. Pujara : 24 years old

*List A debut : 2006 *AVG : 56.97 with 8 hundreds


*FC Debut: 2005 *AVG: 56.53 with 16 hundreds


Summary :

Pujara is younger but also less experienced than Azhar Ali ; but has a better average & more hundreds than A.Ali.

So in my opinion Pujara is better.

Its indeed ridiculous to compare list A and first class averages keeping in mind the low standard of bowling in indian domestic circuit....Pujara looks better but your comparison is not a satisfactory one bro...

[thewrongUn]

i dont think pakistan domestic bowlers are good..what we are seeing is real mediocre bowlers in pakistan national team apart from ajmal..

Even they are far better in all forms of cricket than their indian counterparts if you go by facts rather than prejudice...

[waqar goraya]

In this short time and sample size Pujara looks ahead to me.......

[Gunther]

Pujara is immense against spin almost Dravidesque. Azhar batted well against both the spinners and pacers in the series against England. He tackled Broad quite well in the second and third tests.

[Akmal Dynasty]

forget about comparison with Pujara

Musaarth Ali is better than Azhar ali..

Musarath

btw i was expecting this comparison thread between pujara and Azhar .

Too early to say anything let pujara play some more test matches first.

[The Dark Corner]

Pujara is ahead. However, Azhar is quite good as well.

Azhar has played in more testing conditions, however both players have shown good resolve and grit in difficult periods of the game. I look forward to a good show from both in the future as well.

[Anfield]

Pujara has yet to score outside his home comfort. He looks good but hard to say anything right now. Azhar Ali has scored in various conditions and scenario so to me he's a better player at this stage. Said that it's too early to say anything. Both are doing well for their respective countries.

[PakPrince]

Pujara is an eyesore of a batsman, Azhar Ali is way better than him.

Azhar Ali is no MoYo either!

[Bullet Drive]

Agree with AZ. Pujara isn't really as elegant as people are making him out to be. He's quite ugly to watch.

[leatherface58]

This isn't a freaking beauty pageant!!! Both are highly effective players and been very successful so far. Pujara hasnt really played much away. But with his technique and all, one can say he will at worst be reasonably successful. Azhar Ali has played a couple of good knocks in England. Lets see what he does in South Africa. Pujara unfortunately went there pretty raw. With runs under his belt and newfound confidence, he would be more successful on away tours henceforth methinks.

[PB]

Azhar Ali hasn't played at home so Azhar>Pujara.

[Bullet Drive]

This isn't a freaking beauty pageant!!! Both are highly effective players and been very successful so far. Pujara hasnt really played much away. But with his technique and all, one can say he will at worst be reasonably successful. Azhar Ali has played a couple of good knocks in England. Lets see what he does in South Africa. Pujara unfortunately went there pretty raw. With runs under his belt and newfound confidence, he would be more successful on away tours henceforth methinks.

Azhar also went to England 'raw'. It was his first tour there without any senior team mates as they were banned.

Azhar had no senior members to look up to there bar Imran Farhat & Shoaib Malik whilst Pujara had Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman & others yet he still failed big time.

All of Pujara's runs have come at home whereas Azhar Ali hasn't played any games at home.

Right now its definitely Azhar > Pujara.

[leatherface58]

I would say facing Morkel and Steyn in South Africa is a far more daunting prospect than facing a Anderson, Finn and then misfiring Broad. Be that as it may, Azhar did decently in England. Although Azhar's conversion rate from 50s to 100s is a little worrisome, he is improving rapidly.

As for Pujara, I would tend to ignore his South Africa 3-inning performance. Can't judge a batsman's FTBness or lack of FTBness from such a small sample. If he tours SAF/ENG/AUS now and fails, its a different ball game altogether.

Right now, No comparison from my side. Can't really say who is better.

[Watsupdoc]

The sample size is too small. Pujara has played what only 7 Test Matches and 5 of them have been in India.

On the other hand Azhar has played most of his matches if not all of his matches away from home. So definitely, at this point Azhar is better than Pujara for me. However, it's still a bit too early to judge.

[PakPrince]

Azhar Ali's technique is not the best in the world tbh!
Pujara - cannot say much. havent followed him enough

[talha3]

I would say facing Morkel and Steyn in South Africa is a far more daunting prospect than facing a Anderson, Finn and then misfiring Broad. Be that as it may, Azhar did decently in England. Although Azhar's conversion rate from 50s to 100s is a little worrisome, he is improving rapidly.

As for Pujara, I would tend to ignore his South Africa 3-inning performance. Can't judge a batsman's FTBness or lack of FTBness from such a small sample. If he tours SAF/ENG/AUS now and fails, its a different ball game altogether.

Right now, No comparison from my side. Can't really say who is better.

Agree with this.

[BlackThunder]

Pujara is obviously a much better overall batsman but there is no question despite Pak fans hating on Azhar Ali for his strike rate he is the real deal and an excellent find for a depleted team like Pakistan.

[Eye_Done]

Pujara is home track bully. Averages 10.33 away from home. Azhar proved himself away in tougher conditions. Azhar wipes the floor with Pujara.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/eng...;type=allround

[freelance_cricketer]

The beginning of this thread has just been like the epic (nd closed lol) Umar Akmal vs Virat Kohli thread.


Anyway, i quite liked Junior and even Azhar. Azhar being technically correct isn't bound to fail that often, will have a proper career. Pujara however will have to bring it outside India no doubt. In India, you will always get someone who'd look invincible against the best of them. Remember how Wasim Jaffer hammered Akhtar co? For all the excitement currently, it's well understood that Pujara can still be 'booted out' if he doesn't deliver in the three countries that matter most ie, Aus, Eng and RSA.

Having said that, Azhar himself hasn't set the world on fire either. I guess he has one great 90 in England, that stands out among all his big knocks played in UAE which despite being outside home still dont hold much value for a SC player. Pujara would do the same, probably better in UAE. Even here in India, pitches really haven't been typically flat in last two tests, there was enough in them for spinners and even fast bowlers. He's stood out for India with 400 runs in 3 innings, while the likes of Kohli, Gambhir, SRT, Yuvraj have all failed. If the pitches were that flat, others would have contributed something as well.

[Madplayer]

The beginning of this thread has just been like the epic (nd closed lol) Umar Akmal vs Virat Kohli thread.


Anyway, i quite liked Junior and even Azhar. Azhar being technically correct isn't bound to fail that often, will have a proper career. Pujara however will have to bring it outside India no doubt. In India, you will always get someone who'd look invincible against the best of them. Remember how Wasim Jaffer hammered Akhtar co? For all the excitement currently, it's well understood that Pujara can still be 'booted out' if he doesn't deliver in the three countries that matter most ie, Aus, Eng and RSA.

Having said that, Azhar always haven't set the world on fire either. I guess he has one great 90 in England, that stands out among all his big knocks played in UAE which despite being outside home still dont hold much value for a SC player. Pujara would do the same, probably better in UAE. Even here in India, pitches really haven't been typically flat in last two tests, there was enough in them for spinners and even fast bowlers. He's stood out for India with 400 runs in 3 innings, while the likes of Kohli, Gambhir, SRT, Yuvraj have all failed. If the pitches were that flat, others would have contributed something as well.

Didn't Azhar score a 150 in england too?

[Anfield]

^ 90 something not out.

[AZ]

Azhar Ali is no MoYo either!

true but at least when he does play a shot it looks classy.

Pujara's batting style is plain ugly.

[talha3]

The beginning of this thread has just been like the epic (nd closed lol) Umar Akmal vs Virat Kohli thread.

You know there's a case for opening that thread up again, considering just tests. But this time the question should be, who has been the worst test player so far?

[ace58]

Azhar is better than kohli for sure. I think Pujara will go down as an all time great but its too early to compare either Azhar or Pujara with each other.

[straightdrive1]

Azhar better than V. Kohli?

[JibranAnsari]

Pujara is still young at test level , looks like a more compact and more free-scoring batsman than azhar at the moment but only time will tell who is better.

[Ryankhan]

Ali Azhar made his debut on extreme bowling conditions of England where as Pujara debut on Flat tracks of home ground so that is a big difference. Pujara may be good for now but let him play on foreign soil then we will see how good he is. Azar has impressed and no doubt is a solid player and still in learning phase. Pujara has a a lot to prove, he hasnt been tested in under pressure situation yet and in 2nd test 2nd inings we all saw how he played...

[delhi_dude]

Azhar is better than kohli for sure. I think Pujara will go down as an all time great but its too early to compare either Azhar or Pujara with each other.

how you can be so SURE??
i am sure that chinese play better football then brazilians,,full stop

[delhi_dude]

The sample size is too small. Pujara has played what only 7 Test Matches and 5 of them have been in India.

On the other hand Azhar has played most of his matches if not all of his matches away from home. So definitely, at this point Azhar is better than Pujara for me. However, it's still a bit too early to judge.

yes i agree..only away tour counts.all home matches are useless

[ace58]

how you can be so SURE??
i am sure that chinese play better football then brazilians,,full stop

I've seen Kohli in alot of test matches and you can tell how good a player is sometimes even when they don't score. For example when Pujara only scored one 50 out of 5 innings you could still tell how class he was and that he was he was just unlucky. V kohli doesn't look that good and is clearly not that comfortable playing test matches. I don't understand why people think Kohli is so great already. MS dhoni has a great ODI record too does that make him a great test batsman? V kohli
might turn out to be a great test batsman though.