11 Man of the Match performances in 11 World Cup Finals

Representing the country in a World Cup brings the best out of a team. Teams specifically plan their combinations and work out strategies to compete against the best.

The tournament is eagerly awaited with stadiums being renovated, administrators working out the logistics and broadcasters running advertisement campaigns. The excitement around a World Cup tournament is palpable, and once the fixtures are released, it makes it more interesting.

Players are not left too far behind. They train hard, manage their diet and keep themselves in good shape. They do enough mental conditioning to handle the pressure of expectations. They tune their minds akin to the roles they have been assigned to.

Players realize that if they are successful in churning up performances at the world stage, they can carve a legacy for themselves. After all, just a handful of players have World Cup winners' medal and even greats like Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis and Brian Lara could never achieve it in their near-perfect careers.

Let us look into 11 man of the match winning performances in World Cup finals over the decades.

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#1 Clive Lloyd - 102 and 1/38 versus Australia - 1975 World Cup Final

West Indies in the 1970's were a force to reckon with. In terms of team combination, they had the perfect set of 11 players who were led by the tall and burly Clive Lloyd. When Lloyd won the toss, he wanted to bat first against a very strong Australian unit led by the fiery and outspoken Ian Chappel.

Australia had fearsome quicks with Dennis Lillie and Jeff Thompson leading the pack. They removed openers Roy Fredericks and Gordon Greenidge in quick succession and reduced West Indies to a precarious 50 for 3.

In walked Clive Lloyd- the captain. The southpaw took the attack to the opposition. He partnered with the ever consistent Rohan Kanhai and the duo added 149 runs for the fourth wicket.

Lloyd bludgeoned the Aussie bowling with powerful pulls and fierce square cuts. This changed the momentum and Australia started to leak runs. Lloyd scored 102 runs from 85 balls; the first ever century in a World Cup final. The inning was studded with 12 fours and 2 sixes. After his dismissal, Australia pulled back things but West Indies still managed a final score of 291.

Although 291 was a massive target in those days, Australia put up a brave fight and fell short by 17 runs. For his all-round performance, Lloyd was awarded the first ever Man of the Match award in a World Cup final.

#2 Sir Vivian Richards - 138 not out versus England - 1979 World Cup Final

West Indies were the team to beat in the 1979 World Cup. They had stormed their way into the finals and were seen as the overwhelming favourites to beat England in the final. England's captain Mike Brearley won the toss and invited West Indies to bat in overcast conditions.

It started off as a good decision as Sir Ian Botham, Mike Hendrick and Chris Old troubled the West Indies and reduced them to 99 for 4. Sir Vivian Richards who had arrived at the crease when the scorecard read 22 for 1, was quickly running out of partners.

When Collis King joined him at 99 for 4, the duo stitched a counter-attacking and match-defining 139 run stand. Sir Viv and King cut loose against the disciplined English bowling and enthralled the spectators with their breathtaking stroke play.

Richards played his customary front foot pulls and powerful square drives and hit 11 boundaries and 3 mighty sixes. He finished with 138 off 157 balls with an astonishing strike rate of 87.90.

England started their reply with promise as the openers Mike Brearley and Geoffrey Boycott added 129. However, after Gooch's departure, the English batting lineup soon fell apart like a pack of cards with Joel Garner running riot with 5 for 38.

England folded up for a paltry 194 and lost the match by 92 runs. Sir Viv was the Man of the Match for his sublime innings of 138 runs.

#3 Mohinder Amarnath - 26 and 3/28 versus West Indies - 1983 World Cup Final

India went into the 1983 World Cup as underdogs and surprised everyone when they qualified for the finals. India were playing the 2-time defending champions West Indies with many claiming the match to be a no-match. Kapil Dev won the toss and decided to bat first.

Although the talismanic Sunil Gavaskar was dismissed for 3 runs, Kris Srikkanth's 38 and Mohinder Amarnath's 26 kept the mighty West Indian quicks at bay. When Amarnath departed, India were placed at 90 for 3. They lost wickets to some poor shot selection and folded up for a meagre 183.

When Balwinder Sandhu prised out Gordon Greenidge with a beautiful in-swinger, the great Sir Vivian Richards walked out to bat. He hammered 33 runs in no time before getting out. Suddenly, the Windies were tottering at 76 for 6.

Jeff Dujon was bringing them back into the game when Mohinder Amarnath's dibly-dobly medium pace dismissed him. He also picked up Malcolm Marshall and ended the misery for West Indies by picking the last wicket of Michael Holding. West Indies were dismissed for 140 giving India a 43 run win.

Since it was a low-scoring game, Amarnath was given the MoM award for his all-round efforts. West Indies started the day as favourites but they had to bow down to India's resolve.

#4 David Boon - 75 versus England - 1987 World Cup Final

The 1987 World Cup was played in the sub-continent for the first time and it was a fifty over affair. The final was played between the game's oldest rivals: Australia and England.

Allan Border was leading a young side which had shown a lot of promise in the tournament. He won the toss and decided to bat on a good Calcutta (currently known as Kolkata) wicket.

David Boon and Geoff Marsh got the Aussies off to a bright start scoring 75 runs before Marsh was dismissed. Boon and Dean Jones stitched another important partnership of 76 runs before Jones was dismissed for 33.

Boon played a circumspect innings, holding the innings together and allowing others to bat around him. When he was eventually dismissed, he had scored a responsible 75. Allan Border and Mike Velletta used the long handle to bolster Australia to a formidable 253.

England started well as Athey, Gatting and Lamb made useful contributions. At 135 for 2, Mike Gatting was dismissed while trying to reverse sweep Border. The breakthrough allowed Australia to get back into the game and win it by 7 runs.

David Boon was awarded the MoM for his 75 which helped Australia to post 253.

#5 Wasim Akram - 33 and 3/49 versus England - 1992 World Cup Final

The 1992 World Cup was played in colour clothing and also became the first World Cup to host day-night matches. Pakistan and England had surged into the final in contrasting fashions. Imran Khan won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on a beautiful MCG wicket.

Derek Pringle made early inroads for England by removing openers Aamir Sohail and Ramiz Raja. Imran walked in to bat at No. 3 and was well supported by his long time teammate Javed Miandad. The pair added 139 runs for the third wicket. Inzamam-Ul-Haq (42) and Wasim Akram's (33) death over slogging helped Pakistan reach a formidable 249.

In reply, England lost Sir Ian Botham for a duck. Alec Stewart and Graeme Hick followed suit with England struggling at 69 for 4. Allan Lamb and Neil Fairbrother were trying to bring the innings back on track.

Wasim Akram, who had removed Botham earlier, was the dangerman for Englishmen. The ball was old and had started to reverse swing. He bowled magical deliveries to both Lamb and Chris Lewis, dismissing them in successive deliveries with the score reading 141 for 6. This derailed England's chase and all they could manage was 227 with Fairbrother scoring 62.

Imran Khan top-scored for Pakistan with 72 and picked up the last England wicket and had a fairytale ending to his career. But it was Wasim Akram's magic that England couldn't handle.

Akram was the MoM of his all-round efforts.

#6 Aravinda de Silva - 107 and 3/42 versus Australia - 1996 World Cup Final

Sri Lanka, with their aggressive strategies, had redefined the way ODIs were played. Australia was one of the most consistent sides. It was not a surprise when Sri Lanka locked horns against Australia in the 1996 World Cup final in Gadaffi stadium Lahore. Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to field first, a strategy that had served them well in the tournament.

Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh had a successful opening combination in the World Cup. Mark Waugh was the danger man for Sri Lanka as he had scored 3 centuries in the World Cup.

Although Waugh was dismissed early, Mark Taylor scored a brilliant 74. Australia regularly lost wickets in the middle overs with the spin trio Muralitharan, Dharmasena and de Silva applying the brakes and chipping in with timely wickets. Australia scored 241, which was still good enough considering they had the best bowling attack.

Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharna who had terrorized bowling attacks were dismissed cheaply. Sri Lanka were reeling at 23 for 2 when vice-captain Aravinda de Silva walked in. He first built a 125 run stand with Asanka Gurusinghe before stitching another 93 runs stand with skipper Arjuna Ranatunga. The Islanders won the game by 7 wickets.

de Silva played an aggressive knock with beautiful flowing drives and pulls. He scored a match-winning hundred and remained unbeaten on 107 for which he was awarded the MoM.

#7 Shane Warne - 4/33 versus Pakistan - 1999 World Cup Final

Australia were locking horns against Pakistan and it was evident that this time around the World Cup will have a repeat winner after West Indies. Bowling was Pakistan's strength and their strategy was to defend a score. Wasim Akram had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss.

Saeed Anwar was the danger man for Australia. Glenn McGrath and Damien Fleming started off really well, dismissing both Anwar and Wasti in quick succession.

After a sedate partnership of 45 runs between Abdul Razzaq and Ijaz Ahmed, Warne was introduced into the attack. He set the cat amongst the pigeons by dismissing Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan, Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram. Pakistan lost all the momentum and folded up for a below par 132.

Even Pakistan's talented fast bowling attack could not stop Australia in completing the chase in a mere 20 overs with 8 wickets to spare. Shane Warne's match-winning spell earned him his first MoM in a World Cup final.

#8 Ricky Ponting - 140 versus India - 2003 World Cup Final

Australia were in rampaging form in the 2003 World Cup and India had the momentum on their side. India had lost only to Australia in the group stages and many touted the clash in the final as an opportunity to avenge the defeat.

Sourav Ganguly won the toss in Johannesburg and asked Australia to bat first. Indian bowlers had bowled brilliantly in the tournament and Ganguly expected the same to happen in the final.

Zaheer Khan sledged Matthew Hayden in the first over and leaked 15 runs. From this point, nothing worked out for India as Gilchrist and Hayden smashed the bowling apart. The duo stitched together a century partnership in 13 overs.

When Gilchrist was dismissed, captain Ricky Ponting continued from where Gilchrist had left. After Hayden departed, Damien Martyn and Ponting added a record 234 runs which is still the highest ever partnership in a World Cup final. Australia scored a mammoth 359 for 2.

Ponting was very severe against the wayward Indian bowling and smashed 8 sixes and 4 boundaries in his match-winning 140 off 121 balls.

India were never in the chase after the great Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed in the first over. Although Sehwag scored 82, India lost wickets due to the mounting scoreboard pressure and got bowled out for 234.

#9 Adam Gilchrist - 149 versus Sri Lanka - 2007 World Cup Final

The World Cup sojourn moved for the first time to the Caribbean and Sri Lanka were playing against a rampaging Australia in Barbados in the final match of the tournament.

Australia had not lost a World Cup game since the 1999 edition of the event and had created the record for the most successive wins. Rain was a spoiler which led to a truncated game between the two sides. Australia won the toss and decided to bat first in the 38-over affair.

Adam Gilchrist had been struggling for form in the tournament. Suddenly in the final, he looked to be in a great nick and started to hammer the bowlers from the word go. He built a massive opening stand of 172 with Matthew Hayden and hit as many as 13 boundaries and 8 sixes in his dominating knock of 149 which came from a mere 104 deliveries.

Australia scored a match-winning 281 in 38 overs which was a difficult chase considering the quality Australia had in their bowling.

Sri Lanka got a revised target of 269 in 36 overs owing to rain. Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara had taken Sri Lanka to 123 in 19 overs. Once the duo fell, Sri Lanka's chase was in doldrums and they got bowled out for 211.

Adam Gilchrist's mesmerizing 149 which also became the highest ever individual score in a World Cup final, fetched him a MoM award.

#10 MS Dhoni - 91 versus Sri Lanka - 2011 World Cup Final

This is arguably the most iconic image in the history of Indian cricket

India and Sri Lanka were both pre-tournament favourites in the 2011 World Cup. Both reached the finals in contrasting manners.

After the solving the toss fiasco, Sri Lanka won the toss and Kumar Sangakkara decided to bat first against India. Zaheer was at his aggressive best as he bowled immaculate lines to the openers and dismissed Upul Tharanga in the process.

Once captain Sangakkara joined Mahela Jayawardene after Dilshan's dismissal, the duo looked largely untroubled by Indian bowling.

Jayawardene was looking in great touch and notched up a classy unbeaten 103. Thisara Perera's lusty blows towards the end helped Sri Lanka reach a formidable total of 275 for 6.

India looked all at sea when they lost their two best batsmen inside the first seven overs. Sehwag and Sachin were dismissed by Malinga for 0 and 18 respectively with India struggling at 31 for 2.

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir started to rebuild the innings with Gambhir taking calculative risks and Kohli playing second fiddle. After Kohli was dismissed for a well made 35, captain MS Dhoni took the centre-stage.

Gambhir was well-set with a gritty 50 and MS Dhoni slowly started building his inning. Dhoni was particularly aggressive against the off-spin duo of Murali and Suraj Randiv, hitting some powerful backfoot cover drives and square cuts.

He controlled the situation and ensured the run-rate never got out of control. When India needed 30 off 22 balls, he used the long handle to good effect and struck three boundaries in quick succession. With 4 needed off 11 balls, Dhoni hit an iconic six which is etched in every Indian fan's memory.

Even though Gambhir made a domesticated 97, it was Dhoni's masterly 91 of 79 balls with 9 boundaries and 2 sixes which had the maximum impact and earned him a MoM award.

#11 James Faulkner - 3/36 versus New Zealand - 2015 World Cup Final

Australia were again playing a World Cup final, this time in their home conditions against the in-form Kiwis. The previous encounter between the to sides had gone all the way to the wire, with the New Zealanders coming up trumps. Brendon McCullum won the toss in the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground and decided to bat first.

McCullum was the first to depart when he went for a pre-meditated slog against Mitchell Starc. Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson had a sedate partnership before the duo were dismissed within a space of 10 balls.

Ross Taylor and Grant Elliot started to rebuild the innings and added 111 runs for the fourth wicket. They had set up the foundation at 150 for 3 and were looking for a grand finish.

James Faulkner, who came for his third spell, picked up both Taylor and Elliot. He also dismissed the big-hitting Corey Anderson for 0 to finish with an impressive 3/36 in 9 overs. New Zealand lost track and got dismissed for a below par score of 183.

After scoring 183, Kiwis had to pick up early wickets. Even though they dismissed the dangerous Aaron Finch for 0, David Warner and Steve Smith put a partnership of 61 runs.

Australia won their fifth World Cup and the first one in home conditions and Faulkner was awarded MoM for his brilliant bowling performance.