Ever since ODI cricket came into existence, finishers have been a part and parcel of every One Day side. Michael Bevan, the lanky Aussie lower middle order batsman, took finishing to another level with his ability to occupy the crease and remain unbeaten till he finished the match for his side.
Lance Klusener showed that Bevan wasn't the only one who could do it in a brilliant display of batsmanship through a whole World Cup although he could not add the finishing touches needed to lift South Africa's curse.
Finishing is an art. Ask MS Dhoni. Cricket has barely seen a better finisher, someone who could take it down to the last over, where a one on one battle ensues between the bowler and himself. Rarely was he the loser. Dhoni knew how to win over the bowler even before he had bowled a ball.
2017 is another trophy year, with the Champions Trophy in England welcoming the top cricketing nations to vie for another silverware. As the multi-nation tournament approaches, we take a look at the best finishers in ODI cricket in recent years.
#5 Chris Morris
The South African bowling all-rounder is South Africa's answer to the finisher conundrum. Not long ago, Morris was considered a bowler capable of hitting the 150kmph mark having an ability with the willow.
But that has changed ever since his match-winning knock from the lower order in an ODI against England. Morris's clean hitting ability and pressure free batting might just be what the Proteas need in death overs to overcome their fickleness.
Morris has just one ODI fifty, a match-winning knock against England in Johannesburg but rather than sheer runs it is the manner in which he gets them that will keep the Proteas happy. That kind of fearlessness in the death overs was rarely seen in a South African since Lance Klusener.
#4 Jos Buttler
The England wicket-keeper is a 360° player and is a fearless striker of the cricket ball. Buttler has been a vital part of England's dynamic change in ODIs since the last ODI World Cup.
The wicketkeeper-batsman has scored 989 runs at an average of 49.45 in 29 matches since the World Cup. Importantly, he has hit three hundreds, with all of them coming at a strike rate in excess of 135.
Some of his most brutal knocks include a spectacular 70 against Sri Lanka in Cardiff, another 93 in the same series in Nottingham and an unbeaten 90 off 51 balls against Pakistan. Buttler is capable of doubling the score from the 30th over as he has proved many a times. Watch out fans!
#3 Marcus Stoinis
The Australian all-rounder is fairly new to the International stage but could fit the bill as a lower order finisher. Capable of hitting the ball a long way, Stoinis is a huge plus for Australia in search of a hitter down the order.
James Faulkner was considered Australia's finisher. But of late, Faulkner has struggled with the willow in hand and Stoinis came in at the apt time. Faulkner is now used more as a bowler and Australia can rest knowing that Stoinis can do an equally good, if not better, job.
He smacked a career-best 146 against New Zealand in a tense chase but inspite of finishing on the losing side, his ability to play the counter-attacking game from down the order gained attention. The manner in which he shielded the no.11 batsman to an extent that he did not face a ball in a fifty run stand showed that Stoinis belongs at this level.
#2 David Miller
The South African southpaw is a world class finisher and has proved his ability to close off games umpteen times. Thriving on the simple technique of smashing it if it’s in his arc, Miller has transformed from a slogger to a calculated hitter.
Nothing underlined it more than a brilliant hundred in a 371 run chase against Australia in Durban few months back. Miller had a tail-ender for company but kept strike and finished the game off, remaining unbeaten on 118.
Miller has been amongst the runs since then too, including another hundred against Sri Lanka at the same venue last week. Although he is out injured at the moment, Miller should be fit soon and raring to go by the time the Proteas prepare for another trophy hunt.
#1 MS Dhoni
Any list of finishers is incomplete without the master of run chases, MS Dhoni. The spectacular lower order hitter is no longer burdened by captaincy duties and this could make him all the more dangerous going into a tournament.
Dhoni has completed so many chases for India that even statisticians have lost count. No one can forget is 2011 World Cup final knock that made him the king of finishers. Dhoni's finishing qualities stem from sheer confidence in his abilities.
India have a terrific batsman at the top in Virat Kohli and having Dhoni down the order to finish off games makes them a frightening unit going into the Champions Trophy. He has 776 runs in 24 matches since the World Cup in 2015 at an average of 38.80. His spectacular hundred along with Yuvraj in an ODI against England last month proved that Dhoni is far from a finished force.
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