11 players with the most 'Man of the Match' awards in the first 11 IPL seasons

#8 Shane Watson and Gautam Gambhir - 13

Shane Watson

Shane Watson has been one of the most consistent players in the history of Indian Premier League. He was sensational playing for Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural season of the tournament. The first season's most valuable player helped his team win the tournament.

Of the four MoM awards that he won that season, the most important one came in the semi-final against Delhi Daredevils. With the bat, he made 52 runs off just 29 balls and helped his side post a total of 192 in front of the double Ds. During the chase, he rattled the top order of Delhi by picking up the wickets of three dangerous batsmen - Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, and Shikhar Dhawan. As a result of the start provided by Watson, Delhi were bowled out for a paltry score of 87 and the double Rs went onto win the final against Chennai Super Kings.

After 10 years, the things have turned around completely for Watson as his association with the Jaipur based franchise ended after the two-year ban during which he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore. After two quiet years with the Bangalore team, Watson was written off by many but great players do not remain quiet for long.

Watson in his new yellow jersey was at his best and was the second most valuable player of the season. He also scored a century against Rajasthan Royals and won his first MoM playing for Chennai. He won his third Man of the Match award of the season in the finale in which helped CSK outplay Sunrisers Hyderabad by scoring an unbeaten 117 off just 57 balls.

featuring Shane Watson

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Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir after playing for his home franchise for the first three seasons was crucial in transforming Kolkata Knight Riders into a champion side. Incidentally, his first man of the match award came in 2009 when he played against KKR. As a result of Morne Van Wyk's half-century, Kolkata set a target of 155 against the Delhi Daredevils at Kingsmead, Durban. During the chase, Gambhir scored an unbeaten 71 to help his side chase down the target with 9 wickets.

Gambhir arrival at Kolkata has completely changed the outlook of the franchise. In his first season as the captain, he led his side to the playoffs and in the second season, he led KKR to their maiden title. In 2012, he scored six half-centuries out of the ten half-centuries scored by KKR batsmen. He was the second highest run-getter of the season with 590 runs under his belt and was the leading run-scorer for Kolkata.

During that season, he won the man of the match on three occasions and it was on one of those three occasions that he reached his highest IPL score. Gambhir's 93 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore helped KKR post a total of 190. During the chase, the Bangalore based franchise could manage only 143 even after Chris Gayle's 86. Two years later, Gambhir led Kolkata to their second title in three years.

After a successful seven-year long association with KKR, Gambhir returned to his home franchise with the aim to bring back its lost glory. But sadly for Gambhir, the return did not turn out as planned. After scoring 55 runs in his first match, he could manage only 30 runs in the next five matches and was later replaced by the young Prithvi Shaw. Gambhir failed in the last season but still remains one of the IPL greats and is the fourth highest run-getter in the tournament with 4217 runs.