Top 10 performances in ODI World Cup finals

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. There is no bigger stage in cricket than a World Cup final, and it is occasions like these which are a true test of a player’s mettle. Every World Cup creates a legend, a player who achieves the status of a superstar courtesy of his exploits. Sometimes, you have to wait until the finals to find that star. But the bigger the occasion of your performance, the longer you live in collective memory. Some players have big-match temperament. They always seem to do better than the rest, find that extra ounce of skill, patience and ability when that extra yard is needed. Here, we take a look at the top 10 performances in World Cup finals:

#10 Imran Khan

A list of top World Cup performances in finals is hardly possible without Imran Khan being mentioned in it. Imran top scored in the 1992 World Cup final, scoring 72 in a 139-run partnership with Javed Miandad. He also took the final wicket in the English innings to cap off an all-round performance that included inspirational leadership.

On account of the conditions and context, Imran’s innings gains tremendous value as he resurrected the innings after the fall of two early wickets and made sure Pakistan reached a respectable score to challenge the mighty English batting. Like Dhoni, who kept wickets and captained the team along with playing a powerful knock, Imran was just about everywhere in the 1992 final, with his inspired bowling changes ensuring England were always behind the game.

#9 M S Dhoni, 2011

Very rarely is a World Cup final full of so many good performances. The 2011 final, also noted for Gambhir and Jayawardene’s batting, boasts of an MS Dhoni special too, a Man-of-the-Match effort where the Indian skipper scored 91 in just 79 balls.

He walked in ahead of an in-form Yuvraj Singh and made sure that Muralitharan doesn’t weave his magic around the Indian batsmen. Dhoni went about his task with perfection as the spin wizard remained wicketless during the match. Seemingly out of touch for most of the tournament, Dhoni chose the big occasion to come into his own, putting up a partnership of 109 and 54 with Gambhir and Yuvraj, respectively, ensuring there were no hiccups during their run-chase of 275.

#8 Mahela Jayawardene, 2011

Mahela Jayawardene scored a magnificent 103 off 88 deliveries against India in the final of the 2011 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, thereby giving Sri Lanka the final push to post 274 for 6 from 50 overs. There were many aspects of batting that Jayawardene displayed that day. At 122-3, after Kumar Sangakkara’s dismissal, Sri Lanka were in a spot of bother. At 182-5 in 40 overs, Sri Lanka were in genuine trouble.

But Mahela, along with Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera, ensured that Sri Lanka plundered more than 9o runs off the last 10 overs, setting a stiff target for India in the process. What was most amazing about the former Sri Lankan captain’s innings was his batting prowess - silken, mostly elegant and at all times in control.

#7 Ricky Ponting, 2003

For the sheer volume of runs scored in the match and for the sheer audacity with which they were scored, Ricky Ponting’s breathtaking 140 in just 121 deliveries makes it to this list. The innings, studded with 4 boundaries and 8 sixes, virtually pushed India out of the finals, making it a thoroughly one-sided battle. Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan, all of whom were brilliant until then, ensuring India’s juggernaut journey to the finals, were dispatched to all parts of the crowd.

Ponting, in the company of Damien Martyn, carried on from where Adam Gilchrist left off, walking in at 105-1 at the end of the fourteenth over, and ensured that Gilchrist’s stunning half-century wasn’t going to be wasted. At 125-2 in the 20th over, India had a chance to come back, but Ponting ensured they didn’t on a good batting track at the Wanderers, Johannesburg.

#6 Viv Richards, 1979

West Indies were reduced to 55/3 in the final of the 1979 World Cup edition against England, leaving Vivian Richards and skipper Clive Lloyd with all the rebuilding work, and Richards soon lost Lloyd, too. But from then on, it was the Viv show altogether, emulating his captain’s innings in the 1975 World Cup final when a young Viv came lower down the order and didn’t contribute much.

With valuable support from Collis King who scored 86 in just 66 balls, Viv flayed the English, remaining not out on 138* and virtually batting England out of the game. West Indies won the match by 92 runs in one of the more one-sided finals in World Cup history.

#5 Clive Lloyd, 1975

First World Cup final ever - West Indies still proving its identity, players searching for theirs. Plenty of undertones in every game West Indies played, plenty of political issues too. But Clive Lloyd wasn’t considered one of the game’s greatest for nothing.

West Indies were in deep trouble at 50-3 when Lloyd walked in. Supported by Kanhai, who made a half-century himself, Lloyd went on to make 102 in 85 balls against a bowling attack that included Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. His innings came at a strike-rate that is respected even now, almost 40 years after the innings was played. During the 60-over era, that strike-rate of 120 was simply unheard of. Add to that the fact that it was an innings where Lloyd led from the front to steer West Indies out of trouble, and his knock receives historical importance.

Australia’s Gary Gilmour also deserves a special mention for his spell of 5 for 48 from 12 overs in the final, even though it came in a losing cause considering most finals are known more for batting displays than bowling performances.

#4 Wasim Akram, 1992

Wasim Akram, the Man-of-the-Match in the 1992 final, contributed with both bat and ball to help Pakistan lift their first and only World Cup till date. Batting first, Pakistan posted a healthy total of 249 on the board, receiving a final fillip thanks to Akram’s cameo of 33 in just 18 balls. He put on a valuable 52-run partnership with Inzamam-ul-Haq, the hero of Pakistan’s semi-final win against in-form New Zealand, thereby ensuring that skipper Imran Khan’s brilliant 72 didn’t go to waste.

With the ball, Akram got England’s best batsman, Ian Botham, caught behind for a duck, resulting in England starting on a bad note at 6 for 1. One of the most remembered tactical moves in World Cup history was when Imran brought Akram back into the attack as the ball started to reverse, a concept little known to most bowlers around the world at that stage.

England were cruising at 141-4 with a 72-run partnership between Allan Lamb and Neil Fairbrother. Akram got two in two balls, sending Lamb and Chris Lewis back with almost unplayable deliveries, and that stutter was something England could never recover from, eventually losing by 22 runs. Akram returned match figures of 3-49 from his 10 overs.

#3 Gautam Gambhir, 2011

In the World Cup final of 2011 between India and Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir stepped out to Nuwan Kulasekara and got his castle disturbed playing a needless shot for 97. By doing so, he threw away a lot – the Man-of-the-Match in the World Cup final, a century and, probably, a legacy. Yet it would be unfair if he doesn’t make it to this list ahead of MS Dhoni himself, who steered India to victory, or Mohinder Amarnath, the hero of India’s 1983 triumph.

It would be unfair because Gambhir walked in to bat on the third ball of the match after Virender Sehwag’s dismissal and soon, India lost Sachin too. Gambhir, who had played a wonderful knock in India’s 2007 World T20 final triumph, stitched two valuable partnerships – 83 with Kohli and 109 with Dhoni – before eventually falling on 97, carried away by adrenaline. Whether he would regret that shot, probably the starting point of the downfall of his career, is anyone’s guess.

But the fact that he showed nerves of steel that day, after losing the two openers who had provided great starts throughout the campaign, while chasing a record target under lights against their age-old nemesis should never be ignored. For a lot of Indians, he is still the unofficial Man-of-the-Match of the finals.

#2 Adam Gilchrist, 2007

Adam Gilchrist, like MS Dhoni, would have walked into Australia’s best XI without even having to don the gloves. When on song in big games, which was quite often, Gilchrist, with his high grip and audacious approach, would virtually flay even the best of bowlers around the park. Following a rather unique method of wearing a squash ball inside his left glove, Gilchrist played one of the greatest World Cup knocks against Sri Lanka in the 2007 final at Barbados.

An incredible stat from the match is that Australia’s opening partnership accounted for 172 of the 281 runs they scored in the stipulated 38 overs. But of the 172, Matthew Hayden, a dangerous batsman in his own right, scored just 38, albeit he faced only 55 balls. Gilchrist, who went on to score 149 in just 104 balls, was in a form so imperious that he could have easily scored a double century if the allotted quota of 50 overs had been played, where he could afford to take more time. Bowlers of the quality of Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan, who squeezed opponents until then, were smashed all around the park along with Dilhara Fernando, who bore a major brunt of Gilchrist’s ire.

#1 Aravinda de Silva, 1996

Aravinda de Silva’s display in the 1996 World Cup final has got to be the greatest all-round performance in a high-pressure match ever! Firstly, Aravinda picked up three wickets with the ball including those of Mark Taylor and Ricky Ponting, who had amassed a very useful century partnership by then. His bowling had virtually ensured that Australia didn’t bat Sri Lanka out of the finals in the first 50 overs itself.

Aravinda’s contribution in the match didn’t end there, though. He walked in at No.4 with Sri Lanka precariously positioned at 23-2, having lost both their openers cheaply once again, just like in the semi-finals against India. Aravinda put on 125 with Asanka Gurusinha, followed by an unbeaten 97* with skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, seeing his side through with a brilliant 107* to follow up on his wonderful contribution in the semis.

The sublime batting effort, which made a reasonable target look easy, came against bowlers of the calibre of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Damien Fleming while chasing under lights in one of the sport’s biggest games.