Most Player of the Match awards in international cricket
The game of cricket has seen several match-winners over the years who have made vital contributions to their team’s victory. These players are awarded the coveted ‘Player of the Match’ for being the architect of their team’s win. International teams have always had a player that they can bank upon in their team in every era.
These players always ruled the batting or bowling charts for their sides and scripted several victories for their teams. On that note, let’s take a look at the top three players who’ve contributed the most to their team’s victories and have taken home ‘Player of the Match’ award most times in international cricket.
3. Sanath Jayasuriya
The Sri Lankan all-rounder completely revolutionized opening batting in limited overs cricket with his aggressive intent. Jayasuriya is the fourth-highest run scorer in ODI cricket with 13430 runs in 433 innings at an average of 32.36. He also has a strike rate of 91.20.
Apart from his batting, he has also picked 323 wickets at an average of 36.75 and an economy of 4.78. His all-round performances fetched him 58 ‘Player of the Match’ awards in international cricket. A major chunk of it came in the ODIs (48 awards).
2. Virat Kohli
The modern great of international cricket has ruled batting charts for a number of years now across formats. Kohli has scripted several victories for India with his remarkable chasing ability in limited-overs cricket. The star batter has the habit of scoring hundreds after hundreds in ODI cricket and winning the games for India. Courtesy of his several match-winning knocks, Kohli has been awarded ‘Player of the Match’ 62 times in international cricket. He has been awarded most times in ODIs i.e., 38 followed by T20Is, 15 times.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar was the backbone of Indian batting from the 90s to the first decade of the 2000s. The legendary cricketer is the leading run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs and has a mammoth 100 international hundreds to his name. Apart from being a batting legend, Tendulkar has also picked up 201 wickets in international cricket. For his match-winning performances, the Mumbai batter has been awarded ‘Player of the Match’ 76 times in international cricket. He also has the most ‘Player of the Match’ awards in ODI cricket i.e., 62.
