Man of the Match awardees in IPL finals

An ordeal of seven weeks witnessing battle after battle on the field between some of the most star-studded teams ends with one side prevailing over the rest. The champion side reigns on the stage that matters the most – the final. On the night, however, it’s often one man’s heroics which propels his team to victory, thus allowing them to lay both hands on the trophy. As the curtain closes on a landmark tenth year of the IPL, CricTracker walks down memory lane to take a look at the men of the hour. Here’s a quick recap of all the players who can proudly hold their Man of the Match awards as a memoir of their performances in an IPL final. 2008 – Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals) Yusuf Pathan celebrates after the wicket of Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan during the Jaipur vs Chennai IPL T20 final. (Photo by Manoj Patil/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) A galaxy of international stars dazzled in the inaugural edition of the IPL, but it was one of India’s most improved domestic players who went great guns on the night that mattered most. Although Yusuf Pathan is a name synonymous to monstrous hits in world cricket today, back then few might have heard of him. As the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals locked horns in a thrilling final, Yusuf delivered on the grand stage. In the first innings, he snaffled three wickets, removing the CSK openers and subsequently the dangerous Albie Morkel. The Royals were asked to chase 164, which was never going to be an easy task. The pressure did get to the Rajasthan Royals – they found themselves hobbling at 42/3. That’s when Yusuf provided the impetus with a scintillating 56 to set up a last ball finish which saw Sohail Tanvir calmly swat a ball over mid-wicket when RR needed 1 off 1. Led by the inspirational Shane Warne, the least expensive team had proved that champions aren’t just about players who command big bucks. Yusuf Pathan, however, was the beacon of light that guided the Rajasthan Royals to its first ever IPL title. 2009 – Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bangalore) Virat Kohli (R) and Anil Kumble. (Photo by Julian Herbert/IPL via Getty Images) The IPL was forced to go on a safari in 2009, and in its second year, two new teams made it to the all-important final. The Royal Challengers Bangalore tasted defeat at the hands of the Deccan Chargers, but an inspired spell from RCB veteran Anil Kumble earned Jumbo the Man of the Match award. Kumble perhaps became the trend-setter of leg-spinners operating inside the powerplay after that match. Bowling to the colossus that is Adam Gilchrist, who had blown the Delhi Daredevils away in the semi-final, Kumble made sure the Aussie didn’t trouble the scorers whatsoever. He knocked him over with the wrong un. The leggie then cleaned up another big-hitting Australian, Andrew Symonds, as the Chargers continued to struggle for runs. Rohit Sharma and Venugopal Rao both succumbed to Kumble’s consistency of line and length. The Chargers finished with 143, and Kumble had engineered a brilliant spell of 4/16 to set up a seemingly easy victory. In spite of RCB blotching the run chase, it was only fair that Jumbo be awarded the Man of the Match for an exceptional display of leg-spin in the final. 2010 – Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings) Suresh Raina. (Photo Source: Twitter) 2010 was the year that witnessed the rise of the Chennai Super Kings. In particular, it was also the year that ushered one of the most successful batsmen in the IPL there’d ever be – Suresh Raina. The left-hander stood out in a list of healthy contributions from CSK as they clashed against the Mumbai Indians in the final. Raina remained unbeaten on 57 to take CSK’s total close to the 170-run mark. The busy player that Raina is was proved on the biggest stage of the tournament. He took just 35 balls to get to his 57, which included three fours and three sixes. The final turned out to be a one-sided affair, with MI falling 22 runs short. Raina had a small hand in CSK’s defence as well, getting rid of Harbhajan Singh with an LBW and taking Saurabh Tiwary’s catch to pretty much seal the deal. CSK had played with aggression, smartness and flair to win their maiden IPL title, and they were spurred by the southpaw who capitalised on two dropped chances to score the only fifty of the final. 2011 – Murali Vijay (Chennai Super Kings) Murali Vijay. (Photo Source: Twitter) Speaking of one-sided affairs, the 2011 IPL final was as one sided as it ever got. The Chennai Super Kings successfully defended a tall total of 205, and in turn defended their title as well. An elegant Murali Vijay starred in the final, falling agonisingly short of a brilliant hundred that would have been the cherry on the icing. Electing to bat first, CSK let loose of Mr Cricket along with Vijay. The duo took the Royal Challengers Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners, amassing 159 for the opening wicket in less than 15 overs. Mike Hussey was finally dismissed for a well-made 63, but Vijay’s onslaught continued. He hammered his way to 95 with 4 fours and 6 biggies that sailed into the stands. In reply, RCB never looked like they were in the chase, as CSK marched to their second title. Vijay, however, was the man of the moment, earning the Player of the Match award for his sizzling knock of 95. 2012 – Manvinder Bisla (Kolkata Knight Riders) Manvinder Bisla. (Photo by Carl Fourie / Gallo Images/Getty Images) The Chennai Super Kings became a familiar team in the IPL final. Yet again in 2012, they made it to the all-important game. Up against them were a defiant Kolkata Knight Riders side who took upon the challenge to put a stop to CSK’s dominance. The Hussey-Vijay duo was at it again. They stitched an 87-run stand for the opening wicket before Suresh Raina came in with a different set of agendas. He bludgeoned the ball to all parts of the park and raced to 73 off just 38. Needing 191 to win, KKR were jolted early as skipper Gautam Gambhir departed for just 2. His partner Manvinder Bisla was playing only because the Knight Riders were forced to rejig their combination as Lakshmipathy Balaji failed to recover from a hamstring injury. Who knew that it was Bisla who would power the Knights to their maiden IPL title, prevailing over defending champions Chennai Super Kings? Bisla combined elegance with power en route his 48-ball 89. He creamed 8 boundaries and smashed 5 out of the park. He was well supported by Kallis as well as the duo added 136 for the second wicket. KKR scampered home with 2 balls to spare, and Manvinder Bisla’s name was since etched in the minds of every KKR fan. 2013 – Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians) (Photo Source: Twitter) While CSK made it to their fourth consecutive final, the Mumbai Indians travelled to Kolkata for the game seeking revenge for their defeat back in 2010. The tables, however, turned on the Super Kings in the rematch of the 2010 IPL final, as the giant called Kieron Pollard took centre stage. Electing to bat first, MI didn’t get off to the best of starts. At one stage, they were struggling at 52/4. They had lost half their side at the start of the 16th over, with just 100 on the board. That’s when Pollard happened. The big West Indian smashed 60 off just 32 to take MI to a decent 148. He deposited the final two deliveries of the innings into the stands; his fellow teammate Dwayne Bravo was at the receiving end. Despite having faltered badly at the start of the innings, the Mumbai Indians would have been a happy bunch at the halfway mark thanks to Pollard’s spur. Interestingly, CSK finished 23 runs behind, despite Dhoni’s heroics, giving Mumbai their first stint on the podium. 2014 – Manish Pandey (Kolkata Knight Riders) Manish Pandey KKR. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Kolkata Knight Riders had once again powered their way to the final, and their opponents were surprisingly the Kings XI Punjab. A scintillating hundred from Wriddhiman Saha, playing against his former team, meant KKR would be chasing exactly 200 to get to their second IPL title. Manish Pandey had already made a name for himself, becoming the first Indian to score an IPL hundred. On the night of the final, he played a more memorable knock. When the chips were down, Pandey constructed a gem of an innings to keep KKR in the hunt. Despite losing wickets, Pandey ensured that the asking rate never ballooned beyond his reach. He kept getting the required ten runs an over to take the match right down the wire. The Karnataka lad fell 6 runs short of what would have been the greatest innings in an IPL final, but he had indeed done his job. KKR were home thanks to Piyush Chawla’s who lofted the ball over point, who then began to run around the ground like a madman. An epic final had come to an end, and KKR were deservingly on the winning side, courtesy of a masterful inning from Manish Pandey. 2015 – Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians) Rohit Sharma MI. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians were making it a habit of meeting up in the final. Currently, it was squared at 1-1 and 2015 gave Mumbai the edge to make it 2-1 against CSK in IPL finals. The Eden Gardens was enthralled by a Mumbai’s dominance over the boys from Chennai, and it was the captain who stepped up to the occasion. Rohit Sharma took Mumbai over the 200-run mark to set up an emphatic win over CSK, thus grabbing their IPL 2nd title. Despite losing Parthiv Patel in the first over, Rohit stitched a valuable 119-run partnership with Lendl Simmons to keep Mumbai on course for a score in excess of 200. Rohit’s 26-ball 50 was well supported by West Indians Simmons and Kieron Pollard. Mumbai handed CSK a 41-run thrashing, as the captain snapped the Man of the Match award along with the second IPL trophy. 2016 – Ben Cutting (Sunrisers Hyderabad) Ben Cutting. (Photo Source: Twitter) Two teams led by two prolific captains made it to the 2016 IPL final. On one side, was Virat Kohli’s RCB, who had laid waste to many a team en route to the final. On the other hand, David Warner’s amazing run with the bat had given the Sunrisers Hyderabad their first crack at an IPL title. Unfortunately for Kohli and his boys, they couldn’t overcome their jinx of choking in the final. Despite Warner’s 69 in the first innings, it was another Australian who shone for SRH with both bat and ball. A late flurry of boundaries from Ben Cutting meant SRH ended the first innings with 208 on the board, never an easy chase, even for a team as power-packed as RCB. Cutting followed up his 15-ball 39 to get the crucial breakthrough in RCB’s chase. The perilous opening pair of Gayle and Kohli looked to get to the target without losing a single wicket. However, Cutting removed Chris Gayle just when he was threatening to take the game away from SRH. He then rattled KL Rahul’s stumps as RCB suddenly saw the game slip away from their hands. Eventually, it was a matter of 8 runs that separated the Sunrisers from the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Ben Cutting bagged the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance. 2017 – Krunal Pandya (Mumbai Indians) Krunal Pandya. (Photo Source: Twitter) As the Mumbai Indians extended their dominance in the IPL, finishing at the top of the table, they were increasingly grateful to Krunal Pandya’s contributions throughout the league stage. The all-rounder, despite being in the shadow of his more successful brother Hardik, never failed to provide the impetus when MI needed it. On the night of the final as well when Mumbai faced their nemesis Rising Pune Supergiant, he delivered with the bat. While Mumbai struggled to go beyond 6 runs an over, Krunal came it at no.5 to add the much-needed flair to their innings. Courtesy of his 38-ball 47, the Mumbai Indians had 129 runs on the board. As it turned out, 129 was just enough for MI to scamper to a record third title. Any credit given to Krunal Pandya seems insufficient, as he was the man who pulled his side out of troubled waters. From a phase when Mumbai looked like they would be skittled out below 100 runs, Krunal’s knock proved to be instrumental in a nail-biting final. The Mumbai Indians were finally able to overcome the Pune jinx, and Pandya would cherish the final for his match-saving innings.

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Man of the Match awardees in IPL finals

The men who stood up for their teams in the biggest night.

2015 – Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)

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