Man-of-the-Match monopoly
Most Man-of-the-Match awards in a row, and longest gaps between awards
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India's hot start to the 2008 Asia Cup was in part due to Suresh Raina's form. He scored 101, 84 and 116 in the first three ODIs and was the Man of the Match in each of them. Monopolising the award in consecutive games is no mean feat, so the List decided to look at players who have done precisely that, and those who went years without an award.
Raina is the tenth player to take a hat-trick of Man-of-the-Match awards. Of the other nine, only three are specialist batsmen and none are specialist bowlers. Mohinder Amarnath won the first two of his three awards in the semi-final and final of the 1983 World Cup and completed the hat-trick in a home ODI against Pakistan in September that year.
Lance Klusener was Man of the Match in four of South Africa's nine matches during the 1999 World Cup, and three of them - against England, Sri Lanka, and Kenya - were in a row. He missed out against Zimbabwe, although he scored 52 and took a wicket, but returned to monopolise the award against Pakistan. Graham Gooch is the only other player to win three in a row during a World Cup. He did it in 1987, against West Indies, Sri Lanka and India .
Aravinda de Silva has two Man-of-the-Match hat-tricks. The first came in Colombo in 1996 against Australia and Zimbabwe. His second was in Sharjah in 1997, where he scored 60 against Zimbabwe, and 97 and 134 against Pakistan. Sourav Ganguly is the only player to have won four in a row; all of them were against Pakistan in Toronto in 1997.
Player | Mat | Start Match | Opposition | Scorecard | End Match | Opposition | Scorecard | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SC Ganguly (India) | 4 | Sep 14, 1997 | v Pakistan | ODI 1228 | Sep 21, 1997 | v Pakistan | ODI 1232 | ||
M Amarnath (India) | 3 | Jun 22, 1983 | v England | ODI 221 | Sep 10, 1983 | v Pakistan | ODI 224 | ||
GA Gooch (Eng) | 3 | Oct 26, 1987 | v West Indies | ODI 468 | Nov 5, 1987 | v India | ODI 476 | ||
PA de Silva (SL) | 3 | Aug 30, 1996 | v Australia | ODI 1108 | Sep 7, 1996 | v Australia | ODI 1114 | ||
G Kirsten (SA) | 3 | Oct 6, 1996 | v Pakistan | ODI 1126 | Oct 19, 1996 | v Australia | ODI 1128 | ||
PA de Silva (SL) | 3 | Apr 3, 1997 | v Zimbabwe | ODI 1189 | Apr 7, 1997 | v Pakistan | ODI 1193 | ||
L Klusener (SA) | 3 | May 19, 1999 | v Sri Lanka | ODI 1451 | May 26, 1999 | v Kenya | ODI 1462 | ||
A Flintoff (Eng) | 3 | Nov 7, 2003 | v Bangladesh | ODI 2057 | Nov 12, 2003 | v Bangladesh | ODI 2060 | ||
Imran Farhat (Pak) | 3 | Dec 3, 2003 | v New Zealand | ODI 2072 | Dec 7, 2003 | v New Zealand | ODI 2074 | ||
Shoaib Malik (Pak) | 3 | Jul 25, 2004 | v India | ODI 2152 | Aug 21, 2004 | v India | ODI 2157 | ||
Mashrafe Mortaza (Ban) | 3 | Aug 12, 2006 | v Kenya | ODI 2402 | Aug 15, 2006 | v Kenya | ODI 2404 | ||
SK Raina (India) | 3 | Jun 25, 2008 | v Hong Kong | ODI 2716 | Jun 28, 2008 | v Bangladesh | ODI 2721 |
Chaminda Vaas, the fourth-highest wicket-taker in ODIs, played the most matches before his maiden Man-of-the-Match award. Vaas made his debut in 1994 but it wasn't until his 164th ODI in 2001 that he won his first award by taking 3 for 20 against New Zealand in Colombo.
The longest gap between awards belongs to Javagal Srinath, who was the Man of the Match five times in his 229-ODI career. His fourth award came in January 1998, when he took 5 for 23 against Bangladesh in Dhaka. Ninety-three matches, spanning five years, went by before Srinath was Man of the Match again, this time in the 2003 World Cup. Mahela Jayawardene's 83 ODIs between December 2001 and August 2005 is the longest streak without an award for a batsman.
Player | Mat | Match 1 | Opposition | Scorecard | Match 2 | Opposition | Scorecard | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J Srinath | 93 | Jan 10, 1998 | v Bangladesh | ODI 1271 | Mar 10, 2003 | v Sri Lanka | ODI 1985 | ||
DPMD Jayawardene | 83 | Dec 15, 2001 | v West Indies | ODI 1780 | Aug 3, 2005 | v India | ODI 2265 | ||
Harbhajan Singh | 83 | Oct 10, 2001 | v South Africa | ODI 1757 | Mar 28, 2006 | v England | ODI 2357 | ||
CA Walsh | 80 | Dec 3, 1986 | v Sri Lanka | ODI 405 | Feb 25, 1993 | v Pakistan | ODI 808 | ||
JN Rhodes | 80 | Apr 2, 1997 | v Australia | ODI 1188 | Dec 15, 2000 | v Sri Lanka | ODI 1661 | ||
DK Morrison | 78 | Mar 14, 1989 | v Pakistan | ODI 561 | Nov 11, 1996 | v Sri Lanka | ODI 1142 | ||
RB Richardson | 77 | Oct 21, 1991 | v Pakistan | ODI 682 | Mar 4, 1996 | v Australia | ODI 1072 | ||
KD Mills | 76 | Apr 17, 2001 | v Sri Lanka | ODI 1710 | Jun 21, 2008 | v England | ODI 2710 | ||
Ramiz Raja | 75 | Mar 6, 1985 | v West Indies | ODI 317 | Mar 11, 1989 | v New Zealand | ODI 559 | ||
MV Boucher | 75 | Jan 27, 2002 | v New Zealand | ODI 1797 | Feb 25, 2005 | v Zimbabwe | ODI 2229 | ||
DR Martyn | 70 | Nov 1, 2003 | v India | ODI 2054 | Oct 21, 2006 | v England | ODI 2434 | ||
IA Healy | 69 | Jan 10, 1991 | v England | ODI 662 | Mar 11, 1995 | v West Indies | ODI 986 | ||
EJ Chatfield | 68 | Nov 23, 1980 | v Australia | ODI 94 | Apr 10, 1986 | v India | ODI 381 | ||
PJL Dujon | 68 | Jan 10, 1982 | v Australia | ODI 133 | Nov 14, 1986 | v Pakistan | ODI 398 | ||
SP Fleming | 68 | Jan 6, 2000 | v West Indies | ODI 1534 | Jan 14, 2003 | v India | ODI 1935 |
Jayawardene also features in the table of players with the longest gap between Man-of-the-Match awards in Tests. He won his first in his fourth Test, in which he scored 167 against New Zealand in 1999. The second came two Tests later, against India in Colombo. The third, however, took a while, coming only in 2004, after 51 Tests, for scoring 237 against South Africa in Galle.
Jason Gillespie was Man of the Match only twice in his 71-Test career. And those awards came nearly nine years apart. The first was in his eighth Test, at Headingley in 1997, when Gillespie ripped through England with 7 for 37. That was his only award for his bowling, for the next time Gillespie won, it was for scoring 201 not out against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2006.
Player | Mat | Match 1 | Opposition | Scorecard | Match 2 | Opposition | Scorecard | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JN Gillespie | 62 | Jul 24, 1997 | v England | Test 1373 | Apr 16, 2006 | v Bangladesh | Test 1799 | ||
N Hussain | 53 | Jun 5, 1997 | v Australia | Test 1368 | Jul 25, 2002 | v India | Test 1610 | ||
DPMD Jayawardene | 51 | Feb 24, 1999 | v India | Test 1445 | Aug 4, 2004 | v South Africa | Test 1709 | ||
R Dravid | 47 | Apr 17, 1997 | v West Indies | Test 1365 | Aug 22, 2002 | v England | Test 1613 | ||
WPUJC Vaas | 46 | Mar 18, 1995 | v New Zealand | Test 1293 | Nov 29, 2001 | v West Indies | Test 1572 | ||
CA Walsh | 44 | Apr 8, 1995 | v Australia | Test 1295 | Jun 15, 2000 | v England | Test 1500 | ||
ME Waugh | 42 | Mar 14, 1997 | v South Africa | Test 1360 | Dec 1, 2000 | v West Indies | Test 1520 | ||
MA Atherton | 41 | Jan 4, 1991 | v Australia | Test 1160 | Nov 30, 1995 | v South Africa | Test 1315 | ||
Aamer Sohail | 40 | Jul 2, 1992 | v England | Test 1191 | Oct 22, 1998 | v Australia | Test 1427 | ||
Ijaz Ahmed | 40 | Sep 23, 1988 | v Australia | Test 1105 | Mar 12, 1999 | v Sri Lanka | Test 1450 | ||
D Gough | 40 | Jan 1, 1995 | v Australia | Test 1281 | Mar 7, 2001 | v Sri Lanka | Test 1532 | ||
DJ Cullinan | 39 | Sep 14, 1993 | v Sri Lanka | Test 1234 | Jan 15, 1999 | v West Indies | Test 1441 | ||
DL Haynes | 38 | Aug 9, 1984 | v England | Test 993 | Apr 12, 1990 | v England | Test 1144 | ||
B Lee | 38 | Nov 8, 2001 | v New Zealand | Test 1565 | Mar 31, 2006 | v South Africa | Test 1795 | ||
Saleem Malik | 37 | Dec 10, 1984 | v New Zealand | Test 1003 | Nov 15, 1990 | v West Indies | Test 1154 |
Only one player has bagged four consecutive Man-of-the-Match awards in Tests. Muttiah Muralitharan did it in Sri Lanka in 2001 when he took 42 wickets in four matches: one each against India and Bangladesh and two against West Indies.
Ian Botham won three in a row during his Ashes in 1981. Wasim Akram's last three awards were consecutive and took his tally to 17, the highest at the time. He's been overtaken since by Jacques Kallis, the most recent player to win three in a row. Kallis' 20 Man-of-the-Match awards are followed by Murali's 18.
Player | Mat | Start Match | Opposition | Scorecard | End Match | Opposition | Scorecard | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M Muralitharan (SL) | 4 | Aug 29, 2001 | v India | Test 1559 | Nov 21, 2001 | v West Indies | Test 1570 | ||
IT Botham (Eng) | 3 | Jul 16, 1981 | v Australia | Test 905 | Aug 13, 1981 | v Australia | Test 907 | ||
Wasim Akram (Pak) | 3 | May 25, 2000 | v West Indies | Test 1497 | Jun 21, 2000 | v Sri Lanka | Test 1501 | ||
JH Kallis (SA) | 3 | Jan 26, 2007 | v Pakistan | Test 1830 | Oct 8, 2007 | v Pakistan | Test 1844 |
Click here for the full tables.
Note: All numbers exclude matches in which no award was given, such as rain-affected matches, early Tests, etc.
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George Binoy is a staff writer at Cricinfo
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