P OW E R P L AY
134 — (^) JULY 2019
HERO
WORSHIP
Every match has that player – the one that susses out his opponent’s
weaknesses, and smashes it out of the park to save the day. These men
did just that when it counted the most: at a World Cup Final
WORDS: ABHISHEK NAIR IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES
GOLDEN BALLER
WASIM AKRAM
PAKISTAN VS ENGLAND, 1992
With 15 wickets leading up to the
1992 Final, Akram’s left-arm seam
exploits were crucial to Pakistan’s
campaign. Against England in that
last match, he put on an even more
outstanding performance, one that
netted him the Player of the Match
award. He first dismissed Sir Ian
Botham for a duck. Even with that
setback, England settled in, and
looked to be cruising to victory. When
they were at 141/4, Imran Khan
reintroduced Akram into the attack.
Almost instantly, the skipper got what
he wanted: Akram dismissed set
batsman Allan Lamb with a delivery
that completely missed him on its
way to the stumps. And then did the
very same thing in the next ball, to
Chris Lewis – virtually destroying
England’s run chase, and chance for
the trophy.
THE FINISHER
MS DHONI
INDIA VS SRI L ANK A, 2011
A Final that saw many
impressive performances from
the boys in blue, Dhoni’s in the
second innings was probably
the most spectacular. India
lost both openers very early
on chasing 278, but saw some
hope in a young Virat Kohli and
a composed Gautam Gambhir,
who anchored things. But then
the ball started to turn, and
Kohli lost his wicket to Dilshan
in the 22nd over, leaving India
at 114/3. That’s when Dhoni
unexpectedly walked out,
promoting himself above the
in-form Yuvraj Singh. With
nerves of steel, he stood his
ground against the likes of
Muttiah Muralitharan. And once
the time was right, he switched
gears, putting India right in the
driver’s seat with an unbeaten
knock of 91 – including the
trophy-winning maximum.