New Delhi: Every cricket player has different dreams, but there is one dream that everyone shares, i.e., scoring a century in the World Cup finals.
Scoring a century in the World Cup is one of the greatest achievements a batsman can achieve in his career, but when it is scored in a World Cup final, it is considered an exceptional feeling.
The ICC World Cup 2023, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 19, at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, between the hosts India and the five-time champions Australia.
Both teams are stacked with batsmen, who are in tremendous form and are expected to cross the three-digit mark in the finals.
He might be 50 tons down, but his work is not done yet! 💯
Watch as @imVkohli dazzles us once again, this time for the greatest glory! 🤩Tune-in to the Final #INDvAUS
Tomorrow, 12 PM | Star Sports Network#CWCFinalonStarSports #CWC23 #CWCFinalOnStarSports pic.twitter.com/zvObWCOsCe— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 18, 2023
Notably, no Indian has ever scored a century in the World Cup finals, and the men in blue will be itching to break the record on Sunday.
However, today, we will take a look at the five highest individual scores in the history of World Cup finals, and pay our homage to these iconic knocks.
5] Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)- 103 vs India {2011}
The Sri Lankan veteran scored a century in the 2011 World Cup finals against India. Jayawardene played 88 balls in his innings and helped his team put in a challenging total of 274 for 6 in 50 overs.
However, Jayawardene didn’t enjoy his achievement for long, as with the help of Gautam Gambhir (97) and Indian skipper MS Dhoni (91*), India chased down the target with 5 wickets and 10 balls to spare, to lift the title.
4] Arvind de Silva (Sri Lanka)- 107* vs Australia {1996}
Arvind is another Sri Lankan on the list. However, unlike his countryman, Arvind’s century came in the winning cause.
Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup final was given the target of 242 runs, which, despite early hiccups, Sri Lanka, with the help of Arvind de Silva’s 107* in 124 deliveries, chased down easily with 7 wickets and 22 balls to spare, giving them their only World Cup title ever.
3] Vivian Richards (West Indies)- 138* vs England {1979}
If one is to talk about the dominant era of the West Indian team, the name of Sir Vivian Richards cannot be ignored.
While playing the 1979 World Cup finals against England, Sir Vivian scored a hammering 138* off 157 deliveries, to help West Indies post a huge total of 286 for 9 in 50 overs.
In reply, the whole English innings was bundled out on 194, giving West Indies a win by 92 runs, and also their second consecutive title.
2] Ricky Ponting (Australia)- 140* vs India {2003}
In the 2003 World Cup finals, Australia were asked to bat first by the Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly.
The Australian skipper Ricky Ponting accepted the invitation with open arms, slamming a not-out 140 runs inning in just 121 deliveries, giving India a target of 360 to chase in 50 overs.
Indian chase never really took off as they were bundled out on 234, giving Australia an easy 125-run victory.
1] Adam Gilchrist (Australia)- 149 vs Sri Lanka {2007}
The Australian team were on the hunt for their third consecutive title in the 2007 World Cup final, the only issue being rain and the Sri Lankan team.
Rain, however, after reducing the match to 38 overs a side game went away, and the other issue was taken care of by Adam Gilchrist, who scored a mesmerizing 149 runs off just 104 deliveries, giving Sri Lanka 282 runs target to chase in 38 over, who only managed to reach 215, and gave the Aussies 53 runs victory and their third consecutive world title.
