World Cup-winning captains: 1975-2015

Although it is true that World Cups are generally won by teams which are well stacked in all departments, the captain plays a crucial role when it comes to winning the tournament and over the years, all teams who have won the title have been led by excellent captains. The captain's influence might be underplayed sometimes but his contributions as a leader are vital if a team is to win the World Cup.

The World Cup has been won by only 5 teams so far spread across 11 editions of the tournament and during each of those tournaments, the captain of the team played a pivotal part in the eventual triumph. Team selection, setting an example, leading from the front and making unorthodox decisions during crunch moments are some of the attributes that have defined World Cup winning captains over the years. Let's take a look at how the 10 World Cup winning captains influenced their teams in the hours of their greatest triumph.

1 Clive Lloyd (1975 & 1979)

'Supercat' Clive Lloyd led the West Indies to two back to back World Cup triumphs in the first two editions of the event. Needless to say, he had an excellent team that could destroy most sides on any given day but the leadership provided by Lloyd was a key element in those triumphs.

In the 1975 final against Australia, West Indies had been reduced to 50-3 by Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson and Gary Gilmour but Lloyd slammed an 85 ball 102 to take them to a mammoth 291-8 in 60 overs. During Australia's reply, Lloyd controlled a close game well and even bowled his quota of 12 overs for only 38 runs (for 1 wicket) to fashion a 17 run victory in fading light.

In the 1979 World Cup, West Indies won all games on their way to the semi-final. In the semis, Pakistan seemed to be on course to chase down 294 during Majeed Khan and Zaheer Abbas's brilliant partnership. During a drinks break, Lloyd realised that the bowlers needed to change the line of attack to Abbas.

Instead of bowling on his off stump, which was his strength, Lloyd decided to deploy a leg stump attack and before long Abbas was gone for 93. Pakistan collapsed to 250 all out from 176-1 and West Indies were in their second final. In the final, the West India crushed hosts England by 92 runs through the combined heroics of Viv Richards, Collis King and Joel Garner to win their 2nd consecutive World Cup.

2 Kapil Dev (1983)

Kapil Dev v Zimbabwe, 1983 World Cup

India's triumph in the 1983 World Cup is regarded as the biggest upset in the history of the tournament and it was engineered by one of the country's greatest ever cricketers.

Kapil Dev had formed a bowling attack that was perfectly suited to English conditions and the team also boasted of all-around depth. In the game against Zimbabwe, in which India had been reduced to 17-5, Kapil Dev took India out of the doldrums and scored a 175 off only 138 balls (16 fours and 6 sixes). India won the game easily and there was no looking back.

In the final India shocked the world by dismissing the runaway favourites West Indies for 140, while defending 183.

When Viv Richards was threatening to make a mockery of the target, Kapil Dev took one of the greatest catches in World Cup history to send him back.

He ran back around 40 yards to take the skier. After his dismissal, the collapse started and many still believe that the West Indies would have won their third consecutive World Cup had that catch not been taken.

3 Allan Border (1987)

Allan Border with the 1987 World Cup trophy

Australia had been going through a slump due to the retirement of key players during the 1980s and Allan Border's young team was not really fancied to lift the trophy.

The co-hosts India and Pakistan were the hot favourites, but Border and his young charges produced excellent performances to lift Australia's first World Cup trophy.

After starting the tournament with a 1-run win against hosts India, the team recorded 4 more victories to get to the semi-final. In the semi-final against Pakistan at Lahore, Australia won by 18 runs to set up a clash with arch-rivals England in the final at Eden Gardens.

Although Border did not score many runs in the final, it was a masterstroke from the captain that turned the game on its head. England seemed to be cruising towards the target of 254 when Border brought himself on to bowl.

Mike Gatting, who was batting beautifully, played a reverse sweep and was dismissed as the ball looped up in the air. The England innings stuttered and they ended up losing the game by 7 runs. Border had created the team and it was a stroke of genius from the captain that turned the final Australia's way.

4 Imran Khan (1992)

Imran Khan celebrating the 1992 World Cup win with teammates.

Pakistan's sole triumph in the World Cup is probably one of Imran Khan's greatest contributions to the cricketing history of the country and it is unlikely that they would have won the tournament under any other captain.

The team was on the mat after having been taken out for 93 by England but after that game was thankfully washed out, Pakistan roared back into the tournament and a lot of it had to do with Imran Khan's motivational skills. He called the team 'cornered tigers' and distributed t-shirts which had the slogan on it.

On the cricketing side, Imran was primarily playing as a batsman, since his bowling was on the wane. Additionally, he promoted talented then-youngsters like Inzamam up Haq and in the semi-final against New Zealand, he scored a scintillating 60 off 37 balls to help Pakistan beat the co-hosts (and favourites) and get to the final. Imran top scored in the final with 72 to take Pakistan to 249 and led Pakistan to one of their greatest triumphs.

5 Arjuna Ranatunga (1996)

Arjuna Ranatunga with the 1996 World Cup trophy.

The 1996 World Cup saw Sri Lanka romp to a remarkable win through aggressive batting, smart fielding, and excellent restrictive bowling. The man behind all that was Sri Lanka's inspirational captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who had devised the plans and the strategies that made them one of the toughest teams to beat in the tournament.

Ranatunga had given opener Sanath Jayasuriya and wicket-keeper batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana free rein to go hammer and tongs at the opening bowlers from the outset.

The plan worked wonders throughout the tournament and with players like Aravinda de Silva, Ranatunga himself and Roshan Mahanama available to shore up the middle order, the two openers had carte blanche. In the semi-final, the openers departed in the first over but Sri Lanka recovered to post a total that proved to be beyond hot favourites India.

Ahead of the final against Australia, Ranatunga, who was then the master of mind games, taunted star leg-spinner Shane Warne and it seemed to work on the big day.

Australia could only score 241 after an excellent start as Ranatunga and his army of spinners triggered a mid-innings collapse. Aravinda scored a century as Sri Lanka chased down the target to take Sri Lanka to the famous victory. Shane Warne went for 58 in 10 overs and fittingly enough, it was Ranatunga who hit the winning runs that night in Lahore.

6 Steve Waugh (1999)

Steve Waugh and vice-captain Shane Warne with the 1999 World Cup trophy

Under new captain Steve Waugh, Australia's 1999 World Cup campaign did not start well. They lost two group games to Pakistan and Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, but made it to the Super Six stage. However, they had to win all games to get the semi-finals.

After wins against India and Zimbabwe, Australia were starting at an exit when they had been reduced to 48-3 against South Africa, in their chase of 272 runs. That is when Steve Waugh played the innings of the tournament. He scored 120 off 110 (10 fours and 2 sixes) to fashion one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the tournament and take South Africa to the semi-finals.

In a rerun of the Super Six game, the semi-final against South Africa proved to be another humdinger as well. Steve Waugh scored 56 and along with Michael Bevan, took Australia to 213. Australia tied the game and went through to the final against Pakistan since they had beaten South Africa in the Super Six game (thanks to Steve Waugh). In the final, Australia ran riot to win the game by 8 wickets, having shot Pakistan out for 132.

7 Ricky Ponting (2003 & 2007)

Ponting poses with both of his World Cup trophies

Like Clive Lloyd, former Australian great Ricky Ponting is the only other captain to have led his team to two World Cup titles and like Lloyd, he did it in two consecutive editions of the tournament. In the 2003 edition in Southern Africa, Ponting led one of the best limited overs sides ever and steamrolled every opposition as they won the tournament without losing a single game (11 in all).

Ponting was the 3rd highest run scorer in the tournament with 415 runs and his best innings came in the final against India when he plundered 140 runs in 121 balls (4 fours and 8 sixes) at the Wanderers. Australia posted a mammoth 359 in 50 overs and India's reply remained a formality, as Ponting's men won the game by 125 runs to lift the World Cup.

The Australian team led by Ponting that went to the 2007 World Cup was probably among the greatest one-day international sides ever and they duly won the title in the West Indies that year. They went unbeaten through 11 games in the tournament and won the final in their 12th game to lift their 4th World Cup, thereby becoming the most successful nation in World Cup history.

Ricky Ponting emerged as the tournament's 3rd highest scorer with a total of 539 runs, that included 1 century and 4 half-centuries.

8 MS Dhoni (2011)

Winning Captain's Press Conference - 2011 ICC World Cup

The 2011 World Cup hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, was touted as the tournament in which India's long wait for their 2nd title was going to come to an and the man tasked with fulfilling that dream was MS Dhoni.

Having already led India to the World T20 title in 2007, hopes were high and under him, he had a team that he moulded over a period of 4 years. India started well but defeat to South Africa and a high scoring tied game against England made matters a bit tense. However, there were no alarms as India reached the next stage. Throughout the tournament, Dhoni's captaincy was always spot on. He used Yuvraj Singh's spin bowling brilliantly to nullify the absence of a specialist 5th bowler.

Ahead of the quarter-final, Suresh Raina was brought back into the side and he proved vital in both the quarter-final against Australia and the semi-final against Pakistan in Mohali. However, it was in the final that Dhoni really came into his own. After the loss of three wickets and with just over 160 needed to win, Dhoni came in at number 5 instead of Yuvraj. What looked like a gamble was actually a well thought out move.

Dhoni thought he could dominate the Sri Lankan spinners, especially Murali and that is exactly what happened as he clubbed 91 off 79 (8 fours and 2 sixes) in the company of Gautam Gambhir (97) and then Yuvraj. Dhoni's winning six to bring up the victory in the 49th over remains one of the greatest moments in Indian cricket history.

9 Michael Clarke (2015)

Clarke lifts the 2015 World Cup trophy

The 2015 Cricket World Cup staged in Australia and New Zealand proved to be a huge personal success for Australian captain Michael Clarke as he signed off in style from limited overs cricket, after having led his nation to its 5th title in World Cup. Clarke did not set the World Cup on fire with the bat but provided effective leadership to the team as they only lost once to rivals New Zealand in the group stage.

After that there was no stopping them as Australia beat Pakistan in a tight game in the quarter-final and then muscled India in the semi-final to set up the summit clash against New Zealand. In the final, the Australians killed the game early and dismissed New Zealand for 183, before knocking off the target easily. They had won their 5th title.