5 uncapped players who won Man of the Match in IPL playoffs before Akash Madhwal - Where are they now?

Akash Madhwal won the Man of the Match award in the IPL 2023 Eliminator match between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Madhwal, who joined Mumbai as a replacement last season, picked up a five-wicket haul and destroyed the Lucknow batting lineup. He bowled a dream spell of 5/5 to take MI to the Qualifier 2 match.

Many fans would know that Akash Madhwal set a new record for the best figures by an uncapped fast bowler in the league, and eventually won the top award. But, he was not the first uncapped player to win a Player of the Match award at the grand stage of IPL playoffs.

In this article now, we will look at the last five uncapped players who won the Man of the Match award in playoffs and where they are now.

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#1 Rajat Patidar won Man of the Match in IPL 2022 Eliminator

Royal Challengers Bangalore's batter Rajat Patidar won the Player of the Match award in the Eliminator game last year. Incidentally, RCB's opponents in that game were the Lucknow Super Giants.

Patidar brought his 'A' game to the table and smacked 112* off 54 at the Eden Gardens to help RCB win the match. Unfortunately, Patidar could not play a single match in IPL 2023 due to injury. During the gap between the 2022 and 2023 editions, he even received his maiden call-up to the Indian team.

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#2 Venkatesh Iyer won Man of the Match in IPL 2021 Qualifier 2

Venkatesh Iyer won the Player of the Match award in the Qualifier 2 match of his debut season. Opening the batting for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Delhi Capitals, Iyer scored a 41-ball 55 to help his side chase down a 136-run target.

Soon after, Iyer received his maiden call-up to the Indian team. He played a few matches for India before being dropped from the squad. In the IPL 2023, Iyer garnered 404 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 145.85.

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#3 Suryakumar Yadav won Man of the Match in Qualifier 1 of the 2019 season

Suryakumar Yadav played a match-winning knock for Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 1 match of the 2019 season's playoffs. Playing against CSK in Chennai, Yadav scored 71* off 54, helping MI chase a 132-run target.

Surya has already produced his best-ever performance in the IPL this season, by slamming 544 runs in 15 innings. The MI star made his international debut in 2021 and is currently the World No.1 batter in the ICC T20I rankings.

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#4 Krunal Pandya won Man of the Match in IPL 2017 final

All-rounder Krunal Pandya played an important knock of 47 runs from 38 balls for Mumbai Indians in the 2017 season's final against the Rising Pune Supergiant. Pandya even opened the bowling and returned with figures of 0/31 in four overs.

Thanks to his all-round showing, MI beat RPS by one run. Pandya was later adjudged the Man of the Match. He has made his T20I and ODI debut for India, but could not retain his place. Pandya captained the Lucknow Super Giants in place of injured KL Rahul in the 2023 edition.

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#5 Washington Sundar won Man of the Match in Qualifier 1 of 2017 season

Before Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar won the Player of the Match award in the playoffs battle between MI and RPS in 2017. It was the Qualifier 1 match at the Wankhede Stadium, where the then-uncapped spinner Sundar bowled a tight spell of 3/16 in four overs.

Sundar scalped the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard, and helped RPS to progress to the final. Like Krunal, Sundar has made his debut for India, but he has been in and out of the squad. Sundar plays for SRH in the cash-rich league now.