Top 10 performances in ODI World Cup finals

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. There is no bigger stage in cricket than a World Cup final, and it is occasions like these which are a true test of a player’s mettle. Every World Cup creates a legend, a player who achieves the status of a superstar courtesy of his exploits. Sometimes, you have to wait until the finals to find that star. But the bigger the occasion of your performance, the longer you live in collective memory. Some players have big-match temperament. They always seem to do better than the rest, find that extra ounce of skill, patience and ability when that extra yard is needed.  Here, we take a look at the top 10 performances in World Cup finals:  

#10 Imran Khan

A list of top World Cup performances in finals is hardly possible without Imran Khan being mentioned in it. Imran top scored in the 1992 World Cup final, scoring 72 in a 139-run partnership with Javed Miandad. He also took the final wicket in the English innings to cap off an all-round performance that included inspirational leadership.

On account of the conditions and context, Imran’s innings gains tremendous value as he resurrected the innings after the fall of two early wickets and made sure Pakistan reached a respectable score to challenge the mighty English batting. Like Dhoni, who kept wickets and captained the team along with playing a powerful knock, Imran was just about everywhere in the 1992 final, with his inspired bowling changes ensuring England were always behind the game.