5 best knocks in ODI World Cup finals ft. MS Dhoni

The 2023 ODI World Cup final will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023, between India and Australia.

Players dream of playing in a World Cup final and perform well for their team. So far, across 12 finals played in ODI World Cup history, six centuries have been scored.

Clive Lloyd (1975), Viv Richards (1979), Aravinda de Silva (1996), Ricky Ponting (2003), Adam Gilchrist (2007) and Mahela Jayawardena (2011) all got tons in the big game. Five of these centuries, except Jayawardene, came in a winning cause.

Apart from the aforementioned innings, there have been a few impactful knocks that decided the fate of a final but were not centuries. Here is a look at the five best knocks in an ODI World Cup final:

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#5 Adam Gilchrist, 2007

The Aussie wicketkeeper-batter holds the record for the highest individual score in a World Cup final. He was unstoppable during the 2007 World Cup final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados and smashed a hapless Sri Lankan bowling attack all over the park.

In a match affected by rain, Gilchrist scored 149 runs at a strike rate of 143.27, including eight maximums and 13 boundaries, and combined with Matthew Hayden to add 172 runs for the first wicket.

Veteran bowlers like Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, and Muttiah Muralitharan had no answer to Gilchrist's onslaught and failed to control the flow of runs. Riding on the opener's knock, Australia scored 281 for the loss of four wickets from the allotted 38 overs.

Sri Lanka never were in the chase and Australia won their third consecutive World Cup. Gilchrist was named Player of the Match for his crucial knock.

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#4 Vivian Richards, 1979

June 23, 1979, will forever be remembered for Viv Richard's knock in the World Cup final against England.

Coming in to bat at three, Richards took the attack to English bowlers even as wickets tumbled around him. West Indies were reeling at 99/4 at one stage but Richards then combined with Collis King to add 139 runs for the fifth wicket and help their side get to 286 in 60 overs.

The legendary batter finished with 138 off from 157 balls, which included 11 boundaries and three maximums on a tricky wicket at Lord's. England were bundled out for 194 and the West Indies emerged victorious by a margin of 92 runs.

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#3 MS Dhoni, 2011

MS Dhoni's unbeaten 91 in the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will forever be fresh in the minds of Indian cricket fans. The then-India captain, who had a quiet 2011 World Cup with the bat until then, lit up the Wankhede stadium with a solid knock.

The target of 275 was a stiff one to chase and the hosts were in danger of falling behind at 114/3. However, the Indian skipper promoted himself ahead of an in-form Yuvraj Singh and the rest is history.

Dhoni first added 109 runs for the fourth wicket with Gautam Gambhir (97). Thereafter, he added 54 runs with Yuvraj Singh and guided India to their second World Cup win.

His innings of 91 from just 79 balls included eight boundaries and two maximums.

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#2 Aravinda de Silva, 1996

The chasing team had never won a World Cup final until 1996. But that changed at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore when Sri Lanka chased 242 to win their first and only World Cup trophy so far.

They got off to the worst of starts when both their openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana were dismissed with just 23 runs on board.

Aravinda de Silva joined Asanka Gurusinha on the crease and the duo added 125 runs for the third wicket before the latter was dismissed. De Silva dominated a lethal Australian bowling attack comprising Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, and Paul Reiffel.

He scored a patient century and added 97 runs with skipper Arjuna Ranatunga to guide his team to a seven-wicket win. He was unbeaten on 107 from 124 balls and smashed 13 boundaries in the innings.

The century was in addition to the three wickets he picked up in the first innings and he was deservedly named Player of the Match.

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#1 Ricky Ponting, 2003

The then-Australia skipper was at his brutal best against India in the final of the 2003 World Cup. Ponting was named Player of the Match for his attacking knock of 140 from 121 balls including just four boundaries and eight maximums.

The Indian bowling lineup of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, and Javaghal Srinath were hit to all parts of the park. The then-Australian skipper added 234 runs with Damien Martyn (88*) and ensured that India were batted out of the game.

Australia eventually emerged victorious by 125 runs.