By Sruti Thakur | Updated: November 1, 2025 10:44 AM IST
Kapil Dev became the first Indian captain to guide the national team into an ICC ODI World Cup final. Under his leadership, India secured a historic 43-run victory against the defending champions, West Indies, in the 1983.
India qualified for the 2003 ODI World Cup final under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. They finished second in the league stage and defeated Kenya in the semifinal. Australia crushed India by 125 runs in the final.
Mithali Raj became the first Indian woman captain to take the team into an ICC ODI World Cup final. India sealed the second spot in the group stage standings and went on to defeat New Zealand in the semifinal, but unfortunately loss to Australia by 98-runs
MS Dhoni became the fourth Indian skipper to guide the team to an ICC ODI World Cup final, where India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets to claim their second World Cup title.
5. Mithali Raj remains the only Indian skipper to lead her side into Women's ODI World Cup finals twice. Following the 2005 campaign, India secured a third-place finish in the 2017 group stage, overcame Australia in the semifinals, but narrowly fell short against England in the title clash by just nine runs.
The fifth Indian captain to lead his team to an ODI World Cup final is Rohit Sharma. India dominated the group stage and won against New Zealand in the semifinals, but loss against Australia by six wickets in the 2023 Final.
Harmanpreet Kaur on Thursday became the sixth Indian skipper to guide the team into an ICC ODI World Cup final. India defeated Australia in the semifinal and will now face South Africa in the title decider.