Jasprit Bumrah outfoxed the Pakistani batting lineup claiming 3 wickets just when everyone thought India was done. Bumrah got rid of opening batter Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan captain Babar Azam and all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed and guided India home. For his fiery spell of 3/14, Bumrah was awarded with the Player Of The Match Award.
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This is Bumrah’s second Player Of The Match award so far in the 12 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Games he has played since his international debut. He also has picked 30 wickets so far in the 12 games he has played overall at various editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Bumrah’s 2 Player Of The Match awards is a rarity and needs to be acknowledged more. Here are the other top 5 players who have won the Player Of The Match awards on more than one occasion.
MOST PLAYER OF THE MATCH AWARDS AT ICC MEN’S T20 WORLD CUP | |||
PLAYER | COUNTRY | NUMBER OF AWARDS | MATCHES |
Virat Kohli | India | 7 | 29 |
Chris Gayle | West Indies | 5 | 33 |
Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 5 | 31 |
Shane Watson | Australia | 5 | 24 |
A.B.De. Villiers | South Africa | 4 | 30 |
Virat Kohli, with 7 Player of The Match awards, is renowned for his consistency and chase ability in T20 World Cups, scoring 72* against South Africa in 2014 and 82* against Australia in 2016. Chris Gayle, a T20 legend, holds 5 awards, with standout innings like 117 against South Africa in 2007 and 75 against Australia in 2012. Mahela Jayawardene also has 5 awards, highlighted by his 100 against Zimbabwe in 2010. Shane Watson earned 5 awards, excelling in the 2012 World Cup with performances like 72 runs and 3 wickets against India. AB de Villiers, has 4 awards, including his 69* off 28 balls against England in 2014.
Bumrah might not be in the top five but he falls under the category of the players who have won multiple Player Of The Match awards across various editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. This feat makes him a special talent India has produced.
INDIANS WITH MOST PLAYER OF THE MATCH AWARDS IN T20Is | ||
PLAYER | NUMBER OF AWARDS | MATCHES |
Virat Kohli | 15 | 119 |
Suryakumar Yadav | 14 | 62 |
Rohit Sharma | 13 | 153 |
Yuvraj Singh | 7 | 58 |
Axar Patel | 6 | 54 |
Jasprit Bumrah | 6 | 64 |
Bumrah is just one short of top 5 Indians with most Player Of The Match awards in T20Is. With the rhythm he is carrying currently in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and with his ability to strike whenever needed it seems he might go ahead of his fellow Indian team-mates on the list of Indians with the most Player Of The Match awards.
Similarly Bumrah is also expected to overtake the likes of Jos Buttler who currently is at the ninth position on the list of Most Player Of The Match Awards in various editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Buttler currently sits with 3 Player Of The Match awards and Bumrah is just one award away to go past Buttler.
With Bumrah aiming to break the stumps in the remainder of the games the Indian Cricket Team plays at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, it would be interesting to see how far or rather how above Bumrah goes with regards to the Player Of The Match awards.
The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye