3 Indian cricketers with Man of the Match awards in all 4 'SENA' countries in ODIs

The 'SENA' countries in cricket are South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia. All sub-continent batsman are judged by their performances in these countries, owing to the different qualities of the pitches there.

In England, swing and seam are the norm, whereas in Australia, the pace and bounce on offer can rattle the best of batsmen. New Zealand and South Africa are also in stark contrast to the dry, turning pitches in India, and most touring batsmen find it very difficult to adjust to the weather and playing conditions.

Of late, Indian batsmen have started to perform better in SENA countries, mostly due to the rise of pace bowling at home. Led by able captains like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, the Men In Blue have been able to give a good account of themselves overseas.

In this article, we take a look at the 3 Indian players who have won Man of the Match awards in all 4 SENA countries.

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#3 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma scored 5 tons in the 2019 World Cup in England

Indian opener Rohit Sharma is extremely pleasing on the eye, even when playing on difficult overseas pitches. With him being a strong exponent of the pull and the hook, it comes as no surprise that Hitman has been able to win Man of the Match awards in all 4 pacer-friendly SENA countries.

In England, Sharma has 5 MoM awards (4 in the 2019 World Cup), with all of them coming in the last 3 years. In Australia, the Mumbai Indians skipper has 2 MoMs (one against Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup), while he has also won one MoM each in New Zealand and South Africa.

Of these 9 MoM awards, all but one were given to Rohit Sharma for scoring a century, with his highest score in these games coming against Pakistan at Manchester in last year's World Cup.

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#2 Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev's knock of 175* bailed India out of a tight spot in the 1983 World Cup

Former Indian captain Kapil Dev also holds the distinction of winning Man of the Match awards in all 4 SENA countries. The Haryana pacer perhaps had an edge over the likes of Rohit Sharma given his all-round capabilities, but he played in an era were India were woeful overseas.

In 140 matches overseas, Kapil Dev was awarded the Man of the Match 8 times. Of these 8 honours, two came in Australia (both in Brisbane), while England, New Zealand, and South Africa all saw the 1983 World Cup-winning captain win MoM once each.

Unsurprisingly, the MoM award in England came at Tunbridge Wells in the historic 1983 World Cup match against Zimbabwe, where Kapil Dev scored an astonishing unbeaten 175 after coming in with his team in all sorts of trouble.

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#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar played 463 ODIs for India

Sachin Tendulkar is a veteran of 463 ODIs, so his presence on this list shouldn't come as a surprise to many. However, the sheer number of Man of the Match awards the Master Blaster has won in SENA countries is incredible to say the least.

Tendulkar averaged 43.79 in England, picking up 3 MoM awards in 26 games. In Australia, the great man racked up 3 MoM honours, although his average of 34.67 was on the lower side by his own standards.

In South Africa, Tendulkar was adjudged the Man of the Match 4 times, three of those being 100+ scores and one 98. And finally, in New Zealand, the Mumbai batsman picked up 3 MoM awards, averaging a tad under 40 over the course of 22 games.

Sachin Tendulkar scored 18,426 runs and 49 centuries in ODIs, and is undoubtedly one of the greatest (if not the greatest) ODI batsmen of all time.

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