5 precious World Cup final innings without a century

1.MS Dhoni 91 vs Sri Lanka, 2011 World Cup final

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a Captain's knock and a blinder of an innings in the final. MS Dhoni chose the perfect day to rise to the occasion to outplay Sri Lanka completely to snatch the victory from them. Mahendra Singh Dhoni left the Wankhede stadium in awe with his inspiring innings. After the match, the veteran Sachin Tendulkar was hoisted on the shoulders of his team-mates, galloping the national flag above his head. In a career spanning two decades, he was finally a World Cup champion.

After Gambhir and Kohli's partnership which brought back life in the Indian dugout, Kohli had been shown the way to the pavilion by Dilshan. Yuvraj Singh was in a sparkling form, however, to everyone's surprise, Dhoni stepped up to the challenge. Dhoni had come to the park at 114-3 and struck 91 off just 79 balls with eight boundaries and a couple of maximums.

MS Dhoni, at the halfway mark of his innings, was suffering from a back problem, however, he handled the immense pressure with phenomenal bravery. He had a poor batting record in World Cups with 34 being his highest score. He indemnified for everything by promoting himself to No. 4, playing a fine knock to pull off a heist, thereby also earning him the man of the match award. Dhoni finished the game off with his trademark shot, sending the ball flying over long on for a six.