M.S. Dhoni’s six over long on to clinch the 2011 WC, or Kapil Dev’s running catch to dismiss Vivian Richards in the 1983 WC final or Arjuna Ranatunga’s late cut to third man boundary to clinch the trophy in 1996 WC final are some of the most defining moments in World Cup history.
Unlike other team sports, the role of captain in cricket goes far beyond being just a role model and someone who can motivate the team to actually making decisions on the field that can have far reaching consequences — good or bad — on the outcome of a match. To add to this it is expected that a captain not just be a good leader in marshalling his men but also the best performer for the team.
For a captain, there is no bigger stage than the World Cup to showcase his ability and authority and help his team grab the silverware. The structure of the tournament allows the captain to tinker with his combinations in the early stages of the tournament if the side is not settled, and prepare strategies for each opponent. And cricket’s showpiece event has had many a moments where an inspirational captain has led from the front and taken his team to glory and here we look at the achievements of such leaders.
Clive Lloyd: The West Indian legend set the benchmark high by leading his side to two consecutive WC triumphs in the first two editions. And in the first edition in 1975, he led by example scoring a century in the final against Australia.
Kapil Dev: India’s Kapil Dev came up with a match-winning knock of 175 against Zimbabwe in the group stages rescuing India from 17 for five in the 1983 WC.
Allan Border: During a period of struggle for Australian cricket in the 80’s, the 1987 triumph was a shot in the arm that laid the foundations for its dominance for the next two decades. And the chief architect of this revival was skipper Allan Border. While he was not the team’s most consistent performer he played a key role in the final with both bat and ball. First he scored a run-a-ball 31 and along with Mike Veletta added 73 runs in the last 10 overs. He followed it up with two crucial wickets including that of skipper Mike Gatting that triggered England’s collapse.
Imran Khan: Like Border, the Pakistan allrounder, in the 1992 WC had a subdued tournament missing a couple of games. However, when it mattered most Imran delivered as he top-scored for Pakistan in the final scoring 72 and striking a crucial partnership with Javed Miandad after the team had lost the openers quickly. More than Imran the player, Imran the captain had an influential role in Pakistan’s victory. One of the most memorable moments from the tournament was when Imran coming out to the toss for Pakistan’s must-win game against Australia, wearing a white t shirt with a tiger picture. When asked about it, Imran spoke about how he told his teammates to play like cornered tigers. On the field, his move to bring back Wasim Akram when a partnership was going between Allan Lamb and Neil Fairbrother in the final, was the turning point as Akram knocked off two wickets dismissing Lamb and Chris Lewis off successive deliveries.
Arjuna Ranatunga: The 1996 WC which it co-hosted provided an ideal opportunity for Sri Lanka to take its big step in international cricket. One of the island nation’s old warhorses, Ranatunga managed the blend of youth and experience well as he backed youngsters such as Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana to go out and take advantage of the field restrictions in the first 15 overs and gave them the freedom to play their shots while he along with experienced players like Aravinda de Silva, Roshan Mahanama managed the middle order.
Steve Waugh: One of Australia’s most successful captains, Steve Waugh led Australia to an unlikely victory in the 1999 WC. The team just about managed to qualify for the second stage and had to win all its games in the Super Six stage. While his brother Mark Waugh’s half-century helped his team thrash India, the elder brother took charge against favourite South Africa and scored a match-winning unbeaten century and bailed out the Aussies from a precarious situation. In the tied semifinal game against the same opponent, he once again came to the team’s rescue scoring a half-century in a low-scoring game and Australia qualified on the basis of its win against the African nation in the Super-Six stage.
Ricky Ponting: One of only two captains to win two World Cups as captain, the Tasmanian led the Aussies to the title without losing a single game in 2003 and 2007 and his unbeaten century in the 2003 final against India in which he decimated the Indian attack will rank as one of the finest ODI innings. In 2007, Ponting continued his good form finishing as the tournament’s third highest run-getter as Australia completed a hat-trick of WC triumphs.
M.S. Dhoni: The Indian skipper yet again took the unconventional route promoting himself ahead of inform batsman Yuvraj Singh when the third wicket fell during India’s run chase of 275 and led from the front scoring an unbeaten 91 to give India its second WC win in 2011. While he had not scored a lot with the bat till the final, Dhoni came up with some inspired decisions like getting R. Ashwin to open the bowling in the quarterfinal match against Australia or the way he used Yuvraj Singh’s bowling which made a huge difference.
> Slideshow: The inspirational leaders of World Cup
