10 greatest knocks by captains in World Cup history

With more power comes more responsibility. Come the occasion, the champions always rise. Keeping these cliches aside and coming to the context, a captain’s innings is always special. And when it comes in a World Cup, the value of such knocks cannot be measured in terms of numbers.Here are the top 10 such knocks from a captain in the global competition since it’s inception in 1975.

#10 100* - Martin Crowe v Australia, 1992

The New Zealand captain resurrected the innings after Australia got an early hold in the game at 53/3. Winning the toss and batting first, Crowe entered the batting crease at 13/2 and batted through to ensure that they had a defendable total of 248 against their neighbours. 

It was a slow and steady innings, but a brave one that came off 134 balls not withstanding an injured knee. An 118-run stand for the fourth wicket with Ken Rutherford (57) became so crucial as the tournament favourites suffered a significant loss. The skipper employed spin early in the innings against which the Australians failed to get going.

In the end, the Kiwis won by a comfortable margin of 37 runs, registering a surprise result in the opening game of the 1992 edition at Eden Park, Auckland. The smart Crowe became a hero in the process.