Tale of two captains Lanning loves to lead Aussies from the front

Indian captian Harmanpreet Kaur (left) and her Australian counterpart Meg Lanning take a selfie.

Melbourne, March 6: The sign of a true leader is how they respond in the dark days and if we didn’t know it already, Thursday’s performance proved Meg Lanning was born to carry the orders.

With her side pushed to their limits in the pressure-cooker of a World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Sydney, the Australia skipper once again stood up when her country needed it most.

Her unbeaten 49 set the Aussies on their way to Sunday’s Final against India at the MCG, their 134 for five enough to seal their spot at potentially the biggest day in their history.

The Player of the Match then snaffled two catches and rotated her bowlers superbly to withstand the Proteas’ late pressure and let the whole of Australia breathe a sigh of relief.

One can look long and hard, but it’ll be difficult to come by a better captain’s performance in this year’s tournament than that.

But Lanning has always been the proven pressure player, just ask Beth Mooney and

◗ Meg Lanning’s Player of the Match performance against South Africa sealed Australia’s spot in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Final

◗ The Aussie skipper has a prolific record in T20I knockout matches, smashing 332 runs in the nine she has featured in since 2012

◗ She could become the third Australia captain to win a World Cup on home soil on Sunday if the hosts beat India at the MCG

Megan Schutt.

“She’s the ultimate clutch player,” said opener Mooney.

“She’s got this steely look in her face and when you’re in the opposition, as I have been in WBBL and domestic cricket. It’s not a good sight to see.”

Schutt added: “She’s a true leader and it comes out in her cricket in moments like that.

“She’s just so determined to do things and set the bar high

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“She’s an outstanding leader, an outstanding batter and thank God she’s on our team.”

Take a look at her T20I knockout record, and you’ll see that Lanning saving the day was never not in the script.

In the nine semi-finals and finals she has been a part of since the 2012 event, Lanning has smacked 322 runs, putting her top of the scoring charts with England’s Charlotte Edwards coming in closest in second with 175.

The scariest part is, she’s yet to turn 28.

The Australia captain’s ability to perform brilliantly under pressure has set her apart during her illustrious career — but now she’s about to face her biggest test yet.

A home World Cup is a oncein-a-career opportunity and winning it is an even rarer feat, Lyn Larsen and Michael Clarke the only Australian captains to have done so on home soil. And even then, they didn’t have the pressure of performing in front of a potential record crowd for their sport. — Agencies