3 Overseas cricketers who’ve won the Man of the Match award in an IPL final

IPL has given the cricketing fraternity a lot to celebrate. The fans have been presented with a plethora of moments to cherish and the players have been blessed with an opportunity to shine. When it comes to shining in the IPL, there is no bigger stage than the finale! IPL is one of the most followed T20 leagues around the globe and millions stick to their seats when it comes to the final. So it is quite understandable that the pressure is high and only the ones with the nerves of steel thrive in such a high-pressure situation.

A total of have been 12 IPL finals have been played thus far and that accounts for as many Man of the Match awards. However, only thrice an overseas player has been awarded the MoM in an IPL title clash. Ardent followers of the competition are well versed with the rules of the competition which states that any side can only field a maximum of 4 foreign cricketers in a match which makes it even more challenging for the overseas lot to shine.

The competition is immense even to make it to the starting 11 let alone win the Man of the Match in the biggest match of the season. But here is the beauty of IPL where things may seem like improbable but nothing is impossible! Here we list down three overseas cricketers in the IPL who’ve shined brighter than anyone else on the big dance that is an IPL Finale in front of the highly animated Indian crowds.

Three overseas players who have won MoM award in the IPL final:

1. Kieron Pollard

The IPL final of 2013 will always be remembered for Kieron Pollard’s grit, determination and destructive batting. On one stage it seemed like Mumbai Indians were on the verge posting a lowly total that would’ve been a cakewalk for the Chennai Super Kings as the MI brigade was struggling at the mark of 15 overs with just 100 runs on the board.

But Pollard had other plans as he rose up to the occasion and smashed a sensational 60 off 32 balls to help his side post a challenging total of 148 on the board. Though it didn’t seem enough at the halfway mark, the final overs’ surge had certainly infused confidence in the MI bowler.

As it turned out, the total proved to be too much for MS Dhoni and his men who were restricted at 125/9 in there 20 overs by a disciplined MI side.