Most Man of the Match in T20 World Cups
T20 cricket is a fast-paced form of the game which is played in a small area. That whole scenario can completely change within the course of a few deliveries. This is why the majority of teams focus more on the shorter format of the game as opposed to the longer format. This is why the success of T20 cricket has made the game an entirely new sport. The team batting first can now feel comfortable in their position even after scoring a high total since the team batting second will be able to chase down any total anyway.
The T20 World Cup has provided the opportunity for many superstars to represent their countries in this format. It is also rewarded to the player who can make an impact in a short time with the “Man of the Match” award. We will look at the list of the players who have won the most MOM awards, which shows the impact they have on the performance of their teams, so in this article, we will examine the players who have won the most MOM awards.
Mahala Jayawardene

Mahala Jayawardene, the legendary batsman from Sri Lanka, and his former captain, Mahela Jayawardene, won five Man of the Match awards during the T20 World Cup. Also, Mahela Jayawardene has scored 1016 runs in 31 innings in the World Cup stages, making him the leading run-scorer in this competition. There is currently no record in existence for the most runs scored by an individual during a T20 World Cup match. In 2021, Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, may be able to surpass him in the World Cup. Now let’s take a look at the matches where Mahela was awarded “Man Of The Match”.
- Mahela Jayawardene scored 78 runs against Ireland at Lord’s in the T20 World Cup 2009 and received the award for being the Man of the Match.
- At the Providence stadium in 2010, Mahela Jayawardene scored his first century as a member of Sri Lanka as they competed in the T20 World Cup stage.
- However, with the help of his brilliant century, he managed to get the award of Man Of The Match for the second time in the World Cup’s history.
- In the 2010 World Cup, Mahela Jayawardene continued her unbeaten run against the West Indies and scored 98 runs unbeaten. This is his third knockout in T20 World Cups and he has managed to win the Man Of The Match award for the third time.
- Moreover, Mahela Jayawardene played another unbeaten inning of 65 in the next edition of the match (2012), gaining the award of Man Of The Match in the process.
- Mahela Jayawardene was again awarded the Man Of The Match award at the 2012 edition of the cricket tournament for his vital 42 runs against Pakistan at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
Shane Watson

Shane Watson, the former Australian batting all-rounder, also won the Man Of The Match award in T20 World Cup a total of five times. There is no doubt that the Australian great of the game has scored a lot of runs and also taken a lot of wickets while playing the game. A total of 537 runs were scored by Watson during the 22 innings he played in the T20 World Cup. During the 2010 edition of the T20 World Cup, Shane Watson won the MoM award for the first time. At Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium, Watson scored 81 runs against Pakistan for the award. Additionally, he also took 22 wickets in his career in the T20 World Cup. Now, let’s look at the matches in which Watson won the award for Man of The Match.
- Shane Watson received his first MoM award during the 2010 T20 World Cup. Watson scored 81 runs against Pakistan in a one-off match at the Darren Sammy Cricket stadium to win the award.
- In the T20 World Cup 2012, Shane Watson won his second Man of the Match award. In a match against Ireland, he scored 51 runs and took 2 wickets to win the award for the second time in T20 World Cup history.
- During the same edition, Shane Watson once again won the Man Of The Match award. It is not just that he scored an unbeaten 41 runs innings, but he also picked up two crucial wickets on the way.
- The fourth award of the tournament went to Shane Watson for the third time in the same edition. At the Premadasa Stadium, he scored 72 runs as well as picked up 3 wickets against India.
- The award went to Shane Watson for the very last time in the same edition, which was the final award for Shane Watson. However, despite scoring 70 runs and grabbing 2 crucial wickets while bowling, he ultimately helped his team to win by scoring 70 runs and picking up 2 crucial wickets. At the same time, he managed to win the award of Man of the Match at the T20 World Cup for the fifth time.
Chris Gayle

At the T20 World Cup, The Universe Boss, Chris Gayle has received 5 Man Of The Match awards, making him one of the most decorated cricketers in the sport. And he is still looking to add more titles to his name. The average of Chris Gayle’s 920 runs scored in 26 innings with an impressive average of 40 is also impressive. Chris Gayle has also played well throughout these matches, having a strike rate of 147 in all of them. Here are the matches in which The Universe Boss, Chris Gayle, delivered a memorable performance and earned the Man Of The Match award.
- The first MoM award for Chris Gayle came in a match against South Africa during the inaugural World T20 Cup. In this match, Chris Gayle scored his first century of the World Cup. He scored 117 runs against the Africans.
- Chris Gayle returns to the top of the list with his winner of the Man Of The Match award in the World Cup 2009 in his second consecutive year. At the Kingston Oval in Kingston, Ontario, Chris Gayle scored 88 runs against the strong Australian team, earning him the award for Man Of The Match.
- At the Kingston Oval, Chris Gayle won his third Man of the Match award for World Cup 2010 by scoring 98 runs against India. Furthermore, he also managed to pick up a wicket after playing one of the most important innings of the day.
- At the 2012 T20 World Cup, Chris Gayle scored an unbeaten 75 runs against Australia and won his fourth Man of the Match award.
- Gayle smashed his second World Cup century against England during the last edition of the World Cup (2016). Gayle scored an unbeaten century at the Wankhede Stadium of Mumbai, taking over the title of Man of The Match for the fifth time in T20 World Cup.
Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, the former captain of the Indian team, has played in three World Cups (the last three editions) and was honored as the Player of the Tournament in each edition. However, the fact remains that he also won the Man of The Match award 5 times during those years as well. At the same time, Kohli also scored 777 runs in just 16 innings as well as recording an average of 86.33. Even so, Kohli has the potential to add even more awards to his name in the World Cup 2021. The following is a list of the matches of the T20 World Cup in which Kohli received the Man Of The Match award.
- The World Cup of 2012 was the first time that Kohli won the Man of the Match award against Afghanistan. The award was presented to Kohli after a fifty scored against the Afghans.
- Virat was again presented with this award against their rivals Pakistan on the following day. As a result of Virat’s unbeaten 78 runs scored in the match, including a wicket, at the R Premadasa Stadium, he was the highest scorer.
- In the World Cup 2014, Kohli recorded an unbeaten 72 runs off just 35 balls against South Africa. It was the third time in the world cup that he received the Man Of The Match award for his brilliant batting performance.
- Virat again scored an unbeaten 55 runs against Pakistan at Eden Gardens Stadium in the T20 World Cup (2016). For the fourth time in the three World Cup editions, Virat Kohli went on to win the award for Man Of The Match.
- Virat Kohli was awarded Man Of The Match for the fourth time in the same edition. Meanwhile, he won the award for his unbeaten score of 82 runs against Australia at the Mohali Stadium in Mumbai.
Most Man of the Match awards have been given in the T20 World Cup
Player | Team | M | MOM |
Mahela Jayawardene | Sri Lanka | 31 | 5 |
Chris Gayle | West Indies | 33 | 5 |
Shane Watson | Australia | 24 | 5 |
Virat Kohli | India | 21 | 5 |
AB de Villiers | South Africa | 30 | 4 |
Shahid Afridi | Pakistan | 34 | 4 |
TM Dilshan | Sri Lanka | 35 | 4 |
M N Samuels | West Indies | 20 | 3 |
Yuvraj Singh | India | 31 | 3 |
Umar Gul | Pakistan | 24 | 3 |

Rivcky John
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