There are some players who are above the rest in terms of their consistency and have been in the limelight in the ongoing 15th edition of the Indian Premier League, earning praise from experts and fans alike. There are some established players who are expected to perform well, and there are some new players who have impressed everyone with their performances.
Some of them are scoring truckload runs, and some taking bucketful wickets for their teams. But are they the most influential players for their teams? How do we judge their effectiveness?
There can be many different criteria to check the impact of a player in the team, but a tried and tested method is to calculate the number of Man of the Match (MoM) won by the players. Man of the match is awarded to the player who made the most impact in the match, sometimes regardless of the outcome. This is the reason why every time we see a player who after losing, runs away with the man of the match award.
Taking this as a criterion, Timesofindia.com Analyzed MoM Awards winners so far and find out who played the biggest role in their team’s success and found the Delhi Capitals wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav As a pioneer, playing the lead role in all his four wins so far. Besides Kuldeep, six more players have won multiple MOM awards for their teams – but they are all two awards.
Here is how these seven players have played a leading role in the success of their teams so far in IPL 2022:
(All stats in this article have been updated till the match number 47 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals on May 2, 2022.)
Kuldeep Yadav (Delhi Capitals): M9 | W 17 | Best 4/14 | AV 15.82 | Icon 8.23 | SR 11.52
Currently the second-highest wicket-taker of the season with 17 victims from 9 matches, Kuldeep Yadav has been awarded the MoM award in all four wins recorded so far – claiming 13 wickets in four winning matches . DC are currently ranked sixth in the 10-team standings with four wins from 9 matches.
Kuldeep put on a stellar performance from the start of the campaign, helping DC win their first game against MI by 4 wickets for 18 wickets. He has since gone on to pick up wickets in almost every match, except against RR at the Wankhede. His first four-for-four (4/35) of the season helped beat DC KKR By 44 runs, then another economical 2/24 gave DC a comprehensive 9-wicket win over Punjab Kings. He came up with his best figures so far this season in the second leg against KKR, 4/14 to help DC register a 4-wicket win.
The wrist spinner has taken just four wickets in the season after losing five matches to DC, including two wicketless spells. And so far, DC has struggled even when it has failed to deliver.
Kuldeep Yadav’s MoM Award winning performances this season so far:
– vs MI – 3/18 in 4 overs | Result DC won by 4 wickets
– vs KKR – 4/35 in 4 overs | Result DC won by 44 runs
– vs PBKS – 2/24 in 4 overs | Result DC won by 9 wickets
– vs KKR – 4/14 in 3 overs | Result DC won by 4 wickets
joss butler (Rajasthan Royals): M10 | R 588 | HS 116 | AV 65.33 | SR 150.76 | 3x100s | 3x50s
With three centuries and three fifties in 10 matches, Josso butler There are leaders running in the race for the Orange Cap this season. The Rajasthan Royals opener has so far scored 588 runs at an average of 65.33 and a strike rate of 150.76. Buttler has won two MoM awards for Royals, who are currently third on the points table with six wins from nine matches.
All three of his centuries resulted in a victory for the Royals. A 100-run victory against Mumbai resulted in a 23-run win for the Royals, a 116-run knock against Delhi resulting in a 15-run win. His 103 resulted in RR beating KKR by 7 runs – a match in which his teammate was Yuzvendra Chahali Won MoM award for figures of 5 for 40.
Interestingly, all three of his fifties so far of the season have been due to losers.
Jos Buttler’s MOM Award-winning performance so far this season:
– vs Mumbai Indians – 100 (68) | Result: RR won by 23 runs
– vs Delhi Capitals – 116 (65) | Result: RR won by 15 runs
Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals) – M10 | W 19 | Best 5/40 | AV 15.31 | Icon 7.27 | SR 12.63
The current season’s Purple Cap race leader with 19 wickets, Yuzvendra Chahal, has played a major role in Rajasthan Royals’ successful run with Butler so far. Like Butler, Chahal has also won two MOM awards for Royals – a fifty against KKR and a four against Lucknow Super Giants.
Chahal has 15 wickets in the six matches the Royals have won so far, taking 5 for 40 in a high-scoring thriller against KKR. His first player of the match award this season was won in a narrow 3 run win against LSG, in which he took 4 for 41 in 4 overs.
In the four matches the Royals have lost so far, Chahal took just four wickets, including a wicketless spell, against KKR on Monday.
Yuzvendra Chahal’s MoM award winning performances so far this season:
vs LSG – 4/41 in 4 overs | Result : RR won by 3 runs
vs KKR – 5/40 in 4 overs. Result: RR won by 7 runs
KL Rahul (Lucknow Super Giants) – M10 | R 451 | HS 103* | AV 56.38 | SR 145.01 | 2x100s | 2x50s
In the race for the Orange Cap, KL Rahul is currently the second batsman after Buttler to score a century this season. The LSG captain is leading his team from the front, scoring 451 runs in 10 matches at an average of 56.38. He has scored two centuries so far, both against Mumbai Indians, and helped LSG win two matches on his batting line-up, resulting in two Man of the Match awards.
Since starting the new campaign with a first-ball duck against GT, Rahul has come a long way with a series of good scores – 40, 68, 24, before another first-ball duck against Royals . But he came back strongly, scoring two centuries in the next three matches.
On the basis of their batting form, LSG are currently second in the standings with seven wins from 10 matches.
KL Rahul’s MoM award winning performances this season so far:
– Vs Mi – 103*60 off | Result: LSG won by 18 runs
– Vs Mi – Discount on 103*62 | Result: LSG won by 36 runs
Dinesh Karthik (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – M10 | R 218 | HS 66* | AV 54.50 | SR 194.64 | 1x50s
Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik is the oddest on the list, as he is currently nowhere in the race for the Orange Cap. But Karthik has made quite an impact as a finisher RCB Lineup this season. He currently has the best strike rate of 194.64 among batsmen who have scored more than 100 runs.
Karthik remained unbeaten in all five RCB victories and played a major role in two of them. Chasing 170 against RR, RCB were in trouble at 87/5 in 12.3 overs, with Karthik (44*) shahbaz ahmed (45) took his team home. And against Delhi Capitals, the pair of Karthik (66*) and Shahbaz (32*) took RCB from 92/5 to 189/5, eventually winning the game by 16 runs.
His exploits have been praised by all, even prompting many to suggest that Karthik should be in India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. But his fall in form in the last three matches was accompanied by successive losses to RCB, who were bowled out for 68 by SRH. RCB are currently ranked fifth with five wins from 10 matches.
Dinesh Karthik’s MoM award winning performances this season so far:
– vs RR – 44* of 23 | Result: RCB won by 4 wickets
– vs DC – 66* of 34 | Result: RCB won by 16 runs
Umesh Yadav (Kolkata Knight Riders) – M10 | W 15 | Best 4/23 | AV 19.06 | Icon 7.15 | SR 16.00
Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Umesh Yadav is currently fourth in the Purple Cape race standings with 15 wickets, having been the opening leader at the start of the campaign.
Umesh started the campaign at a high level, leading KKR to three wins in the first four matches, taking a total of nine wickets for the team. Taking 2 for 20 in the first game, KKR restricted CSK to 131/5, which they won by 6 wickets. After losing his second game against RCB, Umesh led KKR to victory against Punjab Kings. Umesh scored 4 for 23 to help KKR bowl out PBKS for 137, which they achieved with six wickets in just 14.3 overs.
After 10 wickets in the first five matches, Umesh’s form has declined and along with this, KKR’s fortunes have also deteriorated. They lost five games in a row, with Umesh returning figures of 1 for 24 in 4 overs, before registering their fourth win of the season against RR on Monday. KKR are currently at the seventh position in the points table.
Umesh Yadav’s MoM Award winning performances this season so far:
vs CSK – 2/20 in 4 overs | Result: KKR won by 6 wickets
vs PBKS – 4/23 in 4 overs | Result: KKR won by 6 wickets
Umran Malik (Sunrisers Hyderabad): M9 | W 15 | Best 5/25 | AV 19.13 | Icon 8.44 | SR 13.60
The biggest find of this year’s IPL is Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Umran Malik, who has mesmerized everyone with his pace. He has consistently bowled in excess of 150 kmph, and has recorded the fastest delivery of the season – 154 kmph against CSK.
The pacer has taken 15 wickets in 9 matches so far and is sixth in the race for the Purple Cap.
Malik has won two MoM awards for SRH so far, but one of them came as a loss. Their first four-for-one 4/28 against Punjab Kings helped SRH register a comprehensive 7-wicket win. But his fifth – 5 for 25 could not stop GT from chasing a massive 196-run target. Although Umran was given the MoM award, he remains the season’s best figure so far.
Riding on Malik’s valor, SRH are keeping themselves alive in the race for the play-offs and are currently at the fourth position with five wins from 9 matches.
Umran Malik’s MOM Award winning performances so far this season:
– vs Punjab Kings – 4/28 in 4 overs | Result: SRH won by 7 wickets
– Vs Gujarat Titans – 5/25 in 4 overs | Result: SRH lost by 5 wickets
(All stats in this article have been updated till the match number 47 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals on May 2, 2022.)