Man of the Match from last five Cricket World Cup finals

To be part of the world cup winning team is very special for any player and to perform in the final of the World Cup in a big way is a memory of a lifetime for a player. In such an event where players represent their nation and the stakes are enormous, there is a lot of pressure on them to perform.

This pressure can surely affect the performance of even the greatest players of the game. There are many great players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Brendon McCullum who were not able to perform in the World Cup final.

Today we will take a look at those five players who stood up to the occasion and delivered when it mattered the most for their team in a crunch situation and won the player of the match award in the last five World Cup finals.

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#5 Shane Warne- 1999, Lord's

Shane Warne took four wickets in the finals of the 1999 World Cup.

Australia was yet again playing a World Cup final. Last time in 1996, Australia was beaten by Sri Lanka in an amazing run chase. This time another Asian team in Pakistan was against them. The start of the match was delayed by 30 minutes due to rain.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan did not have a good start as they lost both their openers by the end of the sixth over. Pakistan was struggling in their batting.

Shane Warne had already become a bowling sensation by then. Warne took his first wicket in his very second over and did not give the Pakistani batsman another chance to stabilize the innings. By the end of the innings, he had taken four crucial wickets for the Australians. He dismissed Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan, Sahid Afridi, and Wasim Akram. He finished with figures of 9-1-33-4 at an economy of 3.66.

His effort helped Australia to restrict Pakistan to a below-par total of 132 runs. In reply to the total, Australia easily chased the target in the 21st over and won the match by eight wickets. Warne was awarded the Man of the Match award for his excellent bowling display.

#4 Ricky Ponting- 2003, The Wanderers Stadium

Ricky Ponting celebrates after reaching his century in the finals

This will definitely be one of the special innings of Ricky Ponting's cricketing career. India was on the verge of making history. The Indian side had reached the World Cup final after 20 years. India's decision to bowl first backfired on them. The opening partnership between Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist was breathtaking. The bought up the century run stand only in the 14th over of their innings.

After the dismissal of both the opening batsmen, India was looking to put pressure on the Australians but the pair of Ponting and Damien Martyn never gave them a chance. Both of them batted till the very last ball of the innings. They had a record partnership of 234 runs between them.

Ricky Ponting was just phenomenal with the bat. He scored 140 runs off just 121 balls to help Australia set a huge target of 360 runs for the Indian side. His innings had 4 fours and 8 sixes in them.

In reply, India had a terrible start with Sachin Tendulkar getting out in the first over of the innings. India never had a chance after that a wicket at regular intervals meant that they ware never in the chase. Indian side got all out for 234 runs. Ponting won the Man of the Match for his great batting display.

#3 Adam Gilchrist- 2007, Kensington Oval

ICC Cricket World Cup Final - Australia v Sri Lanka

Adam Gilchrist is one the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman that the game has ever produced. Very few wicket-keeper batsmen can come close to him in terms of the impact that he had on the game.

In 2007, Australia played their fourth straight final and had the opportunity to become the first team to win three World Cups in the row. Australia were firm favorites to win the match but knowing the unpredictability of Sri Lanka in ICC tournaments, no one could count them out before the match.

The match was rain affected and the number of overs was reduced to 38 at the start of the play. Before this match, there were some concerns regarding Gilchrist's form but he stepped up when the team required it most.

This innings of his is famous because he batted the entire innings with a squash ball in his glove. Gilchrist scored 149 runs off just 104 balls. His innings included 13 fours and 8 towering sixes in it.

The way in which he played never allowed Sri Lanka to get in the game. In the end, Sri Lanka was defeated by 53 runs (D/L method). Gilchrist became the first wicket-keeper to win Man of the Match award in the final of Cricket World Cup.

#2 Mahendra Singh Dhoni- 2011, Wankhede Stadium

It was again India in the finals of World Cup after 8 years. This was Tendulkar's last World Cup and everyone in the team wanted to win the World Cup for him. India lost the toss and had to bowl first.

Sri Lanka put up a big score of 274 runs thanks to an awesome century by Mahela Jayawardene. He scored 103 runs off just 88 balls. His innings consisted of 13 fours.

India didn't have the greatest of the start as Virender Sehwag was dismissed off the very second ball of the innings. Sachin once again failed to deliver on the big finals and was dismissed by Lasith Malinga for 18 runs. The match was in the balance when Virat Kohli got out after a rebuilding partnership with Gautam Gambhir.

The Indian captain promoted himself ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh. MS Dhoni had a match-defining partnership of 109 runs with Gambhir. Dhoni batted beautifully against Muttiah Muralitharan and negated his effect. Dhoni finished it off in style by hitting a six over long-on in the bowling of Nuwan Kulasekara. His innings of 91 not out off just 79 balls helped India to lift the World Cup after 28 long years.

#1 James Faulkner- 2015, Melbourne Cricket Ground

Australia v New Zealand - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup: Final

2015 World Cup will be remembered for New Zealand because of the brand of aggressive cricket that they played throughout the tournament. New Zealand was not able to win the World Cup but they definitely won many hearts by their style of play. Brendon McCullum as the captain always led from the front. He was aggressive throughout the tournament with his bowling and batting approach.

This was a historic moment for the New Zealand team as they reached the finals of World Cup for the first time in their cricketing history. New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first. Brendon McCullum had given them good starts throughout the tournament but failed in the final. He got dismissed in the first over by Mitchell Starc.

James Faulkner then broke the back of the New Zealand middle order by taking three wickets in the batting powerplay. His wickets included that of Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, and Corey Anderson, all being instrumental operators in the line-up. He finished with the figure of 9-1-36-3 with an economy of 4 runs per over. Australia in reply easily chased the target. Faulkner was awarded Man of the Match award for his bowling effort.