World Cup History: 3 players who have won the man of the match awards in both semi-final and final of a world cup

#3 Shane Warne - Australia (1999)

Shane Warne.

After Aravinda de Silva, the same feat was again repeated in the next edition itself and this time it came from the legendary spinner, Shane Warne. On a cold afternoon at Birmingham, the invincible Australians were taking on the mighty Proteas in the semi-finals. South Africa won the toss and elected to field.

The pace battery of Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Jaques Kallis, and Steve Elworthy strangled the Australians and held them to a below-par total of 213. In reply, South Africans were comfortably placed at 48/0 at the end of 12 overs.

But, their downfall began to start with the entry of Shane Warne. Warne ripped through the South African batting line-up and picked up four wickets for just 29 runs. However, Lance Klusner took the attack to the opposition and brought the equation down to nine off the last over.

After striking boundaries off the first two deliveries, Klusner lost his head and engaged in a suicidal run out with last man Alan Donald. The match ended in a dramatic tie and Australia advanced to the final because of its superior net run rate over South Africa in the Super 6 stage of the competition. Warne was adjudged the Man of the Match in this see-saw contest and the South Africans were left for soul-searching.

Warne again crafted his magic with the ball in the finals against dangerous Pakistan. He bowled tightly in the middle overs and once again picked up four wickets. Pakistan folded for meagre 132 and Australians made short work of the chase, finishing in just 20 overs. Warne was once again declared Man of the Match.