Indian Premier League: Decoding players with most PoTM awards
Virat Kohli smashed a 47-ball 92 against Punjab Kings in Match 58 of the Indian Premier League 2024 season on Thursday. Kohli went was looking well set for his ninth IPL century but fell short by eight runs. His effort helped RCB post 241/7 before PBKS lost the match by 60 runs (181/10). Kohli was adjudged the Player-of-the-Match (PoTM) award.
AB de Villiers - 25 PoTM awards
Former Delhi and RCB star AB de Villiers leads the tally of most PoTM awards in IPL history with 25. The South African dasher played 184 IPL matches and scored 5,162 runs at 39.70. In addition to three centuries, de Villiers hammered 40 fifties. He smashed 413 fours and 251 sixes. 4,491 of ABD's runs came for RCB at 41.20 (SR: 158.63).
Chris Gayle - 22 PoTM awards
Universe Boss Chris Gayle bagged a total of 22 PoTM awards in the IPL. Having played for KKR, RCB and Punjab, Gayle finished his IPL career with 4,965 runs from 142 matches at 39.72 (SR: 148.96). He struck six tons and 31 fifties. Gayle holds the record for most IPL sixes (357). As per ESPNcricinfo, Gayle owns most PoTM awards in T20s (60).
Rohit Sharma - 19 PoTM awards
Mumbai Indians star Rohit Sharma has the most PoTM awards among Indian players (19). The former Deccan Chargers ace has won six IPL honors, leading MI to five. Rohit is the 4th-highest run-scorer in IPL (6,541) at 29.59. He has clobbered 276 sixes (highest among Indians) alongside 588 fours. Rohit's tally includes two tons and 42 fifties.
David Warner and Virat Kohli - 18 PoTM awards
Kohli picked up his 18th PoTM award and matched David Warner's tally. On Thursday, Kohli smashed his 55th IPL fifty and surpassed 1,000 runs against Punjab. He is IPL's leading scorer with 7,897 runs at 38.71. For the 4th time, he scaled 600-plus runs in a season. Warner owns 6,564 runs from 183 matches at 40.77. He has 62 fifties (highest) and four tons.
Kohli surpassed Dhoni's tally of 17 PoTM awards
Before this, Kohli was tied with MS Dhoni in terms of PoTM awards. Dhoni has bagged 17 PoTM awards from 261 matches. He is the highest capped player and owns the most wins as captain. The CSK ace has won 5 IPL titles.
