The late Kiwi great Martin Crowe called the quartet of Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root the future of batting in 2014.
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The New Zealand legend termed the batters as the 'Fab Four' in his famous article for ESPNcricinfo.
Since that time, all four batters have captained their respective teams and played in the finals of ICC ODI events. See how they have performed in these matches.
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How have the Fab Four performed in the ICC ODI event finals?
In the latest final where two of the four mentioned players played a final, Kane Williamson scored 11(14) before getting deceived by Kuldeep Yadav and Virat Kohli got 1(2) before he was plumb LBW against Michael Bracewell.
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| Players | Matches | Runs | Avg/SR | Highest | 50/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 5 | 138 | 27.60/87.89 | 54 | 1/0 |
| Steve Smith | 2 | 60 | 60.00/75.00 | 56* | 1/0 |
| Kane Williamson | 3 | 53 | 17.66/53.00 | 30 | 0/0 |
| Joe Root | 2 | 14 | 7.00/35.89 | 7 | 0/0 |
So far, Kohli, Smith, and Joe Root have won ICC Cricket World Cups. Kohli also has the 2013 Champions Trophy to his name. Only Williamson among the four is yet to win an ICC ODI event despite playing three finals.
Fab Four's record in the ICC ODI event final by innings:
Virat Kohli in the ICC ODI event finals:
| Date | Event | Opposition | Runs | Venue | Match Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2, 2011 | Cricket World Cup 2011 | Sri Lanka | 35(49) | Wankhede | India won by 6 wickets |
| June 23, 2013 | Champions Trophy 2013 | England | 43(34) | Birmingham | India won by 5 runs |
| June 18, 2017 | Champions Trophy 2017 | Pakistan | 5(11) | The Oval | Pakistan won by 180 runs |
| November 19, 2023 | Cricket World Cup 2023 | Australia | 54(99) | Ahmedabad | Australia won by 6 wickets |
| March 9, 2025 | Champions Trophy 2025 | New Zealand | 1(4) | DICS | India won by 4 wickets |
Steve Smith in the ICC ODI event finals:
| Date | Event | Opposition | Runs | Venue | Match Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 29, 2015 | Cricket World Cup 2015 | New Zealand | 56*(71) | The MCG | Australia won by 7 wickets |
| November 19, 2023 | Cricket World Cup 2023 | India | 4(9) | Ahmedabad | Australia won by 6 wickets |
Kane Williamson in the ICC ODI event finals:
| Date | Event | Opposition | Runs | Venue | Match Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 29, 2015 | Cricket World Cup 2015 | Australia | 12(33) | The MCG | Australia won by 7 wickets |
| July 14, 2019 | Cricket World Cup 2019 | England | 30(53) | The Lord's | England won on a boundary count |
| March 9, 2025 | Champions Trophy 2025 | India | 11(14) | DICS | India won by 4 wickets |
Joe Root in the ICC ODI event finals:
| Date | Event | Opposition | Runs | Venue | Match Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 23, 2013 | Champions Trophy 2013 | India | 7(9) | Birmingham | India won by 5 runs |
| July 14, 2019 | Cricket World Cup 2019 | New Zealand | 7(30) | The Lord's | England won on a boundary count |
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