5 ODI captains with highest win percentage

ODI cricket has a long history spanning nearly five decades now. The 50-over format of the game has not only seen a lot of great batsmen and bowlers, but also some great captains, whose leadership is known to have been an important aspect for their teams' success.

A captain's role in the game of cricket is more than what meets the eye of a regular fan. While the skipper is constantly executing strategies or taking instinctive decisions on the field that could change the run of play, he is also very much a part of the think-tank off the field, unlike other sports.

There are many all-time great captains who are known to have built their teams, both for the present and the future, and transform the way cricket is played in their country enormously.

An important measure to analyze a captain's success rate is the percentage of matches he has won while leading the side. Here is a look at statistically the 5 most dominant captains in ODI cricket till date, holding the highest victory percentages.

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Michael Clarke: 70.4%

Michael Clarke led Australia to the 2015 World Cup

On the 5th place on the list lies the man who had led Australia victory in the 2015 World Cup played at home. Michael Clarke, who was regarded as one of the best middle-order batsmen in the world of his era, took over from the most successful captain in ODI history, Ricky Ponting, post Australia’s defeat to India in the 2011 world cup.

The Australian team went through a major transition under Clarke’s captaincy, with a lot of legends retiring and being replaced by youngsters, but he managed to bring the team back to the winning ways. He captained Australia in 74 ODIs, winning 50 of them to maintain a win percentage of 70.4%.

Hansie Cronje: 73.7%

Hansie Cronje built a strong South African team after their comeback to international cricket

Perhaps the only player who is remembered as a captain more than a player, Hansie Cronje was the man who was instrumental in ensuring the dominance of the South African team for a decade starting in the mid-90s. Such was his stature in South Africa and the cricketing world that it was hard to believe when he confessed his involvement in the match-fixing scandal.

Cronje was not only a good batsman himself, but was leading a team full of exceptional players, specially some great all-rounders. While he could not take his team to the glory by winning an ICC trophy, Cronje was once the most successful captain in ODIs, leading his team to 99 victories out of 138 matches, a victory percentage of 73.7%.

Ricky Ponting: 76.14%

Ricky Ponting has the highest number of victories as captain

The man with the most number of victories as an ODI captain lies third on this list. With a phenomenal career as an ODI batsman, Ricky Ponting also stands at the third place in the all-time list of highest run scorers in ODI cricket. He took the team's reigns from Steve Waugh, and led a team full of great players, many of whom went on to become legends of the game.

Ponting led the team in as many as 230 ODI matches, winning a whopping 165 of them at a win percentage of 76.14%. The team consistently topped the ranking charts for many years and dominated teams across the world. This amazing record also includes two consecutive World Cups in 2003 and 2007. Such an amazing record seems unassailable in the future.

Clive Lloyd : 77.71%

Clive Lloyd nearly missed a record of three consecutive World Cup victories as captain

Perhaps the greatest team of all time and the first in ODI history to be considered invincible was the West Indies team of the 1970s, led by the great Clive Lloyd. While there were a lot lesser number of ODIs played in that era, the West Indies dominated almost every team, thanks to some of the most brutal batsmen and bowlers to have played the game.

Lloyd led his team to 64 victories out of 84 matches as captain, a winning percentage of 77.71%. This amazing run also included the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979, and it was considered a big surprise when his team was defeated in the 1983 World Cup final by India.

Virat Kohli: 79.1%

Virat Kohli is not just a great batsman, but also a great captain.

Topping this list is the man who seems to be headed towards shattering numerous records, not only while batting but by captaining the side as well. While the whole world is awestruck by Virat Kohli’s batting prowess, it should also be noted that he is captaining the Indian team, transforming them into one of the best ever to play the game.

Virat Kohli has captained India in 49 matches so far, winning 38 of those. This takes the winning percentage to 79.1%, which is the highest ever for any captain with a minimum of 30 matches. With the way the Indian team is playing both home and away in the limited-overs format, this percentage may even go further up in future.