11 Players who won the Man of the Match in IPL Finals

The Indian Premier League has always been a cricket festival in India in which 8 teams battle to win the coveted trophy. This cricket carnival lasts for around 2 months with all the teams fighting hard to achieve supremacy. Ultimately, one team rises above all, lifting the trophy after a nail-biting competition.

Chennai Super Kings with their incredible consistency have played the most number of IPL finals (6 times). Despite being banned for 2 years, the team made an emphatic return and won the 11th edition of IPL in 2018. Mumbai Indians have remained as the second best team of IPL reaching the final 4 times.

The final match is the most crucial match of the entire series as the winning team takes the trophy home. Performing well in the final is every player’s dream. The pressure is at the topmost level during the finals, which makes it difficult to perform well. However, winning the Man of the Match award in the final is the most prestigious moment for every IPL player.

In the 11 seasons of IPL, the world has found such 11 top class players who know how to handle the pressure in crucial situations. Those 11 players who won the Man of the Match award in the final match of 11 seasons of IPL are as follows-

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#11 Shane Watson - Chennai Super Kings (2018)

Shane Watson's 117 runs helped Chennai win their 3rd IPL title in 2018

Shane Watson proved to be the best buy for CSK in 2018. Chennai Super Kings bought Watson for $775,000. Watson scored 555 runs in return which was his best aggregate among all the seasons of IPL. Regarding his bowling, he picked up 6 wickets at the economy of 7.93 runs per over.

Watson emerged as the best all-rounder for CSK in 2018. The opening partnership between Watson and Rayudu proved to be the best thing for MS Dhoni’s side. The blistering form of Watson continued in the finals as he scored 117 runs against the mighty Sunrisers Hyderabad. Watson got the reward for his century in the form of the Player of the Match award as he led Chennai to their 3rd title.

#10 Krunal Pandya - Mumbai Indians (2017)

Krunal Pandya proved to be the main spinner for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2017

Krunal Pandya with his all-around ability proved out to be the main strength of Mumbai Indians in the 10th edition of IPL. The Pandya brothers have always been the shining stars in IPL. Krunal Pandya scored 243 runs in 13 matches along with taking 10 wickets in the 10th edition of IPL.

Pandya even delivered his best performance when his team needed the most during the final of IPL 2017. The bowlers of Rising Pune Supergiant completely shattered the Mumbai Indians’ top order. Then, Krunal entered the field at no 5 and changed the fate of the game as he scored crucial 47 runs from 38 balls. Mumbai had just 129 runs on the board to defend in the final match. However, the tables turned in favor of Mumbai Indians as they clinched their 3rd title by defending the small target. Pandya got the Man of the Match award for his crucial knock.

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#9 Ben Cutting - Sunrisers Hyderabad (2016)

Ben Cutting scored 39 runs in just 15 balls in the final of IPL 2016

Rajasthan Royals bought Ben Cutting in 2014 but later on, he moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad for the ninth edition of IPL in 2016. The Australian all-rounder proved to be worthy for his franchise as he delivered his best during the most important match of the tournament.

Cutting scored 39 runs in just 15 balls at a blistering strike rate of 260 in the finals against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He stroked the ball fearlessly when his team needed him the most and clinched the Man of the Match award by scalping 2 wickets as Hyderabad won by a margin of just 8 runs.

#8 Rohit Sharma - Mumbai Indians (2015)

Rohit Sharma has emerged as the best captain of Mumbai Indians in IPL

The fans hail Rohit Sharma as the best captain of Mumbai Indians as under his captaincy, Mumbai Indians have lifted the trophy 3 times. Rohit has maintained a perfect balance between his form and captaincy.

Rohit Sharma's quick-fire fifty in just 26 balls helped Mumbai to lift the trophy for the 2nd time as the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings fell short of the target by 42 runs. He along with Lendl Simmons helped the Mumbai franchise to reach a defendable target. The MI bowlers performed phenomenally to set up their title win.

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#7 Manish Pandey - Kolkata Knight Riders (2014)

Manish Pandey helped KKR win their 2nd IPL title in 2014

Indian youngster Manish Pandey always remained in the limelight ever since Kolkata Knight Riders bought him. Manish was the first Indian to score a ton in the IPL for RCB. Pandey played the best innings of his life in 2014 as his 94 runs in just 54 balls led KKR to win the match by 3 wickets with 3 balls to spare. Pandey fell short in taking his team across the line as he lost his wicket to Karanveer Singh.

However, Piyush Chawla did the job as KKR clinched their 2nd IPL title.

#6 Kieron Pollard - Mumbai Indians (2013)

Pollard silenced the whole crowd with his heroic performance in IPL 2013 final

The Big Man from the Caribbean, Kieron Pollard with his big hitting powers stole the entire show in the IPL 2013 Final. With his six hitting ability, Pollard has performed the role of a finisher for Mumbai Indians to perfection.

Kieron Pollard smashed 60 runs in just 32 balls during the final of the 6th season of IPL. Pollard’s quick fire innings helped Mumbai place a total of 148 runs on the board for CSK. With CSK being unable to achieve it, falling short by 23 runs, Mumbai lifted their 1st ever IPL title. Pollard won the Man of the Match award for his heroic performance.

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#5 Manvinder Bisla - Kolkata Knight Riders (2012)

Manvinder Bisla was the hero for KKR in IPL 2012 finals

Manvinder Bisla cemented his place in the hearts of his fans with his heroic performance in IPL 2012 final. Bisla remained in the news for a quite a period post his innings. After his match-winning innings in the final, he became a household name in Kolkata.

The Chennai Super Kings batted well in the first innings as they challenged the Kolkata Knight Riders to achieve a target of 190 runs to win their first IPL title. After losing Gautam Gambhir‘s wicket in the first over, an excellent partnership between Manvinder Bisla and Jacques Kallis, where the former played the lead role, helped KKR win the match by 5 wickets.

Bisla was adjudged as the Man of the Match for his beautifully crafted 89 runs which helped KKR to cross the borderline.

#4 Murali Vijay - Chennai Super Kings (2011)

Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay was CSK’s lead opener in the initial seasons of IPL. Opening the innings, Vijay had provided solid starts to his franchise which helped them post huge totals on the board.

Batting first in the final, CSK posted a giant total of 205 for the RCB line-up to win their first trophy. Murali Vijay scored 95 runs in 52 balls at an unbelievable strike rate of 182.69. Vijay was awarded with the Player of the Match award as RCB’s innings ended on 147 runs with Chennai winning the IPL title for the second consecutive time.

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#3 Suresh Raina - Chennai Super Kings (2010)

Suresh Raina is the leading run scorer in the history of IPL with a total of 4985 runs

Suresh Raina is the leading run scorer of Indian Premier League overtaking Virat Kohli, who was at the top for a while. So far, Raina has scored 4985 runs in the 176 matches he has played. Batting at number 3, Raina has been the main batsman of CSK since 2008.

Suresh Raina, playing to his strengths, scripted a quick sensible innings where he scored 57 runs in just 35 balls taking the team's total to 168 runs in 2010. With Mumbai falling short by 22 runs, Raina won the Man of the Match award in the final match as CSK lifted the trophy for the first time in the year 2010.

#2 Anil Kumble - Royal Challengers Banglore (2009)

Anil Kumble is the only one to receive the Man of the Match award representing the losing team in an IPL final

The Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble played the first 3 seasons of the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Playing for his franchise, Kumble grabbed 45 wickets which included his career best figures of 5/5.

After winning the toss, RCB fielded first in the 2009 IPL final. The RCB side restricted Deccan Chargers to 143 runs in their 20 overs as Kumble’s 4/16 shattered the entire Deccan batting line-up. But on a sad note, Kumble’s effort went in vain as Bangalore fell short of the target by mere 6 runs. However, the officials announced Kumble as the Man of the Match for his brilliant bowling performance.

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#1 Yusuf Pathan - Rajasthan Royals (2008)

Yusuf Pathan played a huge role in the success of Rajasthan Royals

The inaugural season of Indian Premier League was played in the year 2008. Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were the 2 teams who made it to the finals.

While batting first, the Chennai team posted a total of 163 runs on the board which seemed as a par score for a final match. With all other batsmen falling short, Raina’s 43 runs helped CSK in posting a respectable total for Rajasthan Royals.

Yusuf Pathan’s quickfire 56 runs helped Rajasthan in winning the inaugural season of IPL. Pathan was adjudged as the Man of the Match award for his crucial half-century and brilliant performance with the ball.