The 4 men who've led their teams to the semis

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord once said, 'I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep'. As we reach the final stages of World Cup 2015, the four marshalls who have led their warriors to the semifinals have amply displayed their leadership traits over the course of the tournament.The team which wins two more matches will lift the trophy and each of the four semifinalists have displayed their mettle in the past one month and proven that they are better than the rest.Here's a look at the unique styles of the four captains:

#1 MS Dhoni - India

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not known as 'Captain Cool' for nothing. He has a cricketing mind that few seem to understand. His instincts and spontaneous decisions have left pundits and supporters baffled due to them not being ‘standard’, but that is what has got him plenty of success. Giving Joginder Sharma the final over in the T20 final, promoting himself up the batting order over in-form Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup final are some of Dhoni's decisions which baffled all, but worked wonders.

Most cricket pundits had ruled India out of the reckoning for the World Cup after their dismal performance in the Australia tour preceding the tournament. But, Dhoni had other plans. The pacers started firing, the spinners are strangling the opposition, openers are providing starts and the middle order looks solid. All the cogs have fallen into place and as they say, the rest is history-in-the-making, just so we don't jinx it.

#2 Brendon McCullum - New Zealand

Watching McCullum on field reminds one of that school kid over-eager at every ball! Brendon McCullum is an explosive batsman and an as explosive captain. He makes decisions that are spontaneous and he isn't shy of taking responsibility in case they fail.

McCullum stands by his team and is more than open to crazy field settings, as long as it ensures bowling out the opposition in a jiffy. He isn't shy of running from one end of the field to the other just to back his fielder and save an extra run.

New Zealand is the only team to have taken a review within the first 10 overs in all their matches this World Cup.

#3 AB de Villiers - South Africa

As was evident from their loss against Pakistan, South Africa is heavily reliant on AB de Villiers. He is their best batsman, fielder and has also been rolling his arm in this World Cup. He has been leading by example.

The entire team looks up to de Villiers and their success is heavily dependent on his form. He belongs to the school of captaincy which is reluctant to delegate responsibilities. Every time the team is in trouble, he steps up to steer his team clear. The 31-year-old leads from the front. De Villiers came into the tournament as the top-ranked ODI batsman; with his blistering knocks, the right-handed batsman made sure the Proteas remained motivated.

De Villiers is bent on getting rid of the 'chokers' tag that South Africa has been carrying for around two decades. He lobbed the tag in the face of the team's critics following South Africa's impressive win in the World Cup quarterfinal against Sri Lanka.

#4 Michael Clarke - Australia

The most tactical out of the four, Michael Clarke makes decisions based on logic and reason. He has been facing criticism over his form after coming back from injury midway into the tournament, but that has in no way affected his decision-making on the field.

His decision of dropping Shane Watson turned out to be a master-stroke with the all-rounder raring to prove his mettle now. Slowly but steadily the Australian juggernaut is picking pace. Clarke is not alien to the big stage either as he played a stellar role in Australia's 2007 World Cup winning campaign. He will be sure to rub in that experience on his team mates.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said he was in awe of Clarke for the manner in which the Australian skipper coped with the tragic death of team-mate and close friend Phillip Hughes.

“I think we saw during the tragic circumstances around Phil Hughes' passing how strong a leader he (Clarke) is and the way that he carried himself and the way that he spoke on behalf of the team,” McCullum said before his team's World Cup clash with Australia.