Top 10 cricketers with most 'Man of the Match' awards in ODI cricket

Carlton & United Aravinda De Silva
Aravinda De Siva

In cricket, there is a key contest between bat and ball on the 22 yards and each player on the green turf puts in his best foot forward in the role assigned to them. Every team needs to have the right combination of batsmen and bowlers to strike a good balance and have the winning edge over the opposition. A team needs to be equipped with players of different skills sets to win you a game. Coming to batting, teams look for explosive openers at the top, dependable sheet anchors in the middle order and power hitters at the death to finish off games. On similar lines, a good blend of potent seamers and quality spinners is a must for having the much-required variation in the bowling line-up. In ODI cricket, a team needs to have a couple of match winners in their tanks who can change the course of a game on their own. A match winner needs to possess multiple qualities like good match awareness, calm demeanour to soak in the pressure and keen understanding of the opposition’s game plan besides excelling in his predefined role in the team.

Over the years we have seen like ODI greats like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne and Brett Lee giving the cutting edge to their respective sides with their ability to win matches. Over the last five years batting maestros like Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers, David Warner, Quinton De Cock, Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam have contributed tremendously with the willow to win ODI matches for their respective sides. Similarly, the likes of Mitchell Starc, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Rashid Khan have bowled some exceptional spells to win matches for their teams.

These players are the 'impact players' who can get the team across the finishing line by putting in incredible performances with either bat or ball on a consistent basis.

So let us have a look at the top ten international cricketers who have won the most man of the match awards in ODI cricket. Before we run through the list, honourable mentions to those cricketers who won 25 or more man of the match awards in ODIs.

International cricketers with 25 or more Man of the Match awards in ODIs

Virat Kohli – 28

Adam Gilchrist - 28

Saeed Anwar – 28

AB De Villiers – 27

Yuvraj Singh – 27

T Dilshan – 25

Nathan Astle – 25

Desmond Haynes - 25


#10 Aarvinda De Siva

Aravinda De Siva was Sri Lanka’s most accomplished batsman in limited overs cricket. In the 90s, De Silva was ranked among the best in the world due to his ability of scoring runs all round the wicket. The classy right handed batsman was Sri Lanka’s most dependable stroke maker in the middle order and forged a healthy partnership with Arjuna Ranatunga.

A brilliant reader of the game, De Siva knew just when to accelerate and step up the scoring rate. He was a big match player and reserved his best knocks against quality oppositions at major tournaments.

ODI - 308

Man of the Match Awards- 30

#9 Brian Lara

Super Eight - Australia v West Indies - Cricket World Cup 2007
Brian Lara

West Indian batting genius Brain Lara was an exceptional stroke maker in ODI arena. The immensely talented left-hander made batting look pleasing to the eye with his wristy stroke play and sublime timing. Lara looked like a magician with the willow courtesy his high backlift, late shuffle and nimble footwork.

Lara could change the course of a game by scoring some scintillating hundreds. Pace or spin, Lara had a wide range of shots in his repertoire to dominate attacks. He was the best batsman of the West Indian ODI team for almost a decade and a half.

Matches - 299

Man of the Match Awards - 30

#8 Kumara Sangakarra

England v Sri Lanka - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup
Kumara Sangakkara

Kumara Sangakkara was one of the most elegant stroke-makers to play for Sri Lanka in ODI cricket. Sangakkara's batting had of touch a classy and flair. He was a prolific run scorer across different batting conditions courtesy his robust technique and sound temperament. The ever-dependable left-hander along with Mahela Jayawardene became the backbone of the Sri Lankan batting order, scoring heaps of runs for almost two decades. 'Sanga' stepped up his game at major tournaments and notably scored four centuries at the 2015 World Cup. His greatness as a batsman often undermines his wicket-keeping skills behind the stumps which was as clinical as his batting.

ODI - 404

Man of the Match Awards - 31

#7 Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly of India
Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly was one of India’ most prolific run-getters in ODI cricket. Ganguly scored tons of runs while opening the innings with Sachin Tendulkar in limited overs cricket. 'Dada' was known as the 'Lord of the Off side' due to his majestic off side play. He enthralled fans with those booming cover drives and towering sixes against spinners. Sourav had the ability to score daddy tons and take India across the finishing line in many ODIs.

Besides his stellar batting, he was more than a handy medium pacer who got the ball to move around in seaming conditions. Ganguly had the knack of breaking partnerships and was fondly dubbed as the 'Man with the Golden Arm'.

ODIs - 311

Man of Match Awards- 31

#6 Sir Vivian Richards

Sir Viv Richards
Sir Viv Richards

Sir Viv Richards was arguably the most destructive ODI batsman of his generation. Richards was a free-flowing stroke maker who scored his runs at a breezy pace batted in an aggressive manner. Richards had all the shots in his armoury to make the best bowling attack look ordinary. He was the lynchpin of the formidable West Indies batting order in the 80s. In an era where most batsmen played with a defensive mindset and technically correct stroke play, Richards pioneered and successfully deployed an attacking dimension to his batting. He was a nightmare of most bowlers as he punished them severely if they slightly erred in line or length. The poster of West Indian cricket outshone many of his illustrious contemporaries to win many matches for his country.

ODIs - 187

Man of Match Awards - 31

#5 Shahid Afridi

India v Pakistan - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup
India v Pakistan - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's mercurial all-rounder was one of their biggest match winners in ODI cricket. 'Boom Boom' Afridi packed a punch with those powerful arms and iron like wrists. He played some destructive cameos down the order to win many nerve-racking encounters for his nation. A darling with the Pakistani fans, Afridi’s inconsistent yet enthralling kept the fans at the edge of their seats.

When on song, Afridi tore apart attacks with his lusty ball striking which usually produced some towering sixes. There are few batsmen who could hit the red cherry harder than the Karachi Pathan. Afridi was a quality leg-spinner who deceived the batsman with his quickish leg spinners which skidded off the surface.

Afridi was pretty athletic in the initial part of his career and was an exceptional fielder in the backward point and covers region.

ODIs - 398

Man of Match Awards - 32

#4 Ricky Ponting

V.B. Series, Australia vs South, Day Night match
Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting was Australia’s most prolific run scorer in ODI cricket. The aggressive right-hander was a free-flowing stroke maker in Australia’s formidable middle order during their golden run in international cricket. A quality player against pace, Ponting pulled and hooked with full command to tonk the best of bowling attacks and score some mammoth tons.

Ponting's batting got better with him taking over as the skipper of the Australian ODI team. An electrifying fielder in the point and slips, Ponting took breath-taking catches and effected stunning run outs to change the course of many matches in Australia's favour. Australia's most successful ODI captain bagged an impressive 32 man of the match awards in his stellar career.

ODIs - 375

Man of the Match - 32

#3 Jacques Kallis

South Africa v Sri Lanka - ICC Champions Trophy
Jacques Kallis

Jacques Kallis has been regarded as the greatest all-rounder in the one day cricket. The South African legend was immensely gifted with both bat and ball. Batting at the number three position with a typical Proteas upright stance and compact technique, Kallis was the workhorse of Proteas batting lineup, providing stability to the innings. Although he was more of a run grafter, he could also use the long handle to great effect.

Kallis was a genuine seam bowler who got decent seam movement out off his outswingers, scalping over 200 ODI wickets for the Proteas. He proved to be an effective third seamer to pace greats like Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and later on to Dale Steyn. Kallis had a safe pair of hands and took some sharp catches in the slips.

ODIs -328

Man of the Match Awards - 32

#2 Sanath Jayasuriya

South Africa v Sri Lanka - ICC Champions Trophy
Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka’s hard-hitting left-hander Sanath Jayasuriya was key to Sri Lanka’s gigantic rise to the very top of international cricket in the mid-90s. The diminutive opener took the world by storm with his pinch-hitting exploits in the 1996 World Cup and established himself as a fearless opener in white ball cricket.

Jayasurya used his terrific hand-eye coordination and brute bottom hand power to score some whirlwind tons up the order. A fierce cutter and puller, Jayasuriya ended up as Sri Lanka’s greatest match-winner scoring over 13000 ODI runs with 28 tons. Sanath was also a clever customer with the ball, darting in those spinners at the death overs and choking the opposition for runs.

ODIs- 445

Man of the Match Awards - 48

#1 Sachin Tendulkar

India v South Africa: Group B - 2011 ICC World Cup
Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin was the batting lynch pin of the Indian ODI team for almost two decades. The 'Master Blaster' hailed as the greatest batsman in the modern era was India’s greatest match winner with the willow. Sachin had the penchant of scoring match winning hundreds with superlative consistency and taking the team across the finishing line.

In the late 90 and first decade of the new millennium, the Indian team’s fortunes in white ball cricket were heavily dependent on Sachin’s run-scoring exploits. Sachin racked up a staggering 51 ODI centuries. Besides his prolific run-scoring with the bat, he was a pretty handy bowler who scalped over 150 ODI wickets with his mixed bag of deliveries. Tendulkar won the most number of man of the match awards in a glittering career which saw him make over 450 appearances.

Matches - 463

Man of the Match - 62

Check RCB Squad 2024 Details. Follow Sportskeeda for IPL 2024 Live Score, Schedule, Points Table

Quick Links

Edited by Vikshith R