6 Indian Players Who Won Man Of The Match Award On Their T20I Debut

Winning a man of the match trophy while playing for Team India would probably be the dream of every player. However, it is something, for which you have to outperform pretty much every other player on the field, including your teammates as well.

To win the match on the match award, obviously, a player has to be the best among the 22 players that take to the field. However, in the past, there have been some Indian players who have achieved this feat on their debut itself.

To be acknowledged as the best player on the field is a matter of immense pride, but to do so on your debut is another kind of honour altogether.

Having said, today we will list below, 6 Indian players who won the man of the match award on their T20I debut:

Subramaniam Badrinath

After impressing one and all with his exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 4, Subramaniam Badrinath got selected for India’s T20 squad for West Indies tour 2011. In the One-off T20I fixture between these two teams, Badrinath scored 43 runs off 37 balls to help India defeat the hosts by 16 runs.

Badrinath was rewarded with a ‘Man of the Match’ award for his performance, on his debut. The shocking thing here is that was Badrinath’s maiden and last T20I appearance for the Indian team.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik won the ‘Man of the Match’ award on his debut, when the Indian team played its first-ever T20 international match against South Africa in December 2006. For the first time in cricket history, team India played the Proteas in a 20-overs battle, and they triumphed on the penultimate ball.

The Men in Blue chased down South Africa’s 126-run target with one ball remaining and Karthik, who made his T20 debut that day, was adjudged as the best among all the Indian players. He scored 31 runs off 28 balls and remained not out as well.

Pragyan Ojha

Former Indian leggie Pragyan Ojha made his T20I debut in Indian colours against Bangladesh on 6 June 2009. The Men in Blue batting first gave the Bangla Tigers a mammoth score of 180 runs to chase. They failed short of that target eventually, as Bangladesh could muster up just 155 runs in reply to the Indian innings.

Debutant Pragyan Ojha starred for team India as he scalped four wickets in his spell, giving away just 21 runs. The 33-year-old was rewarded with the ‘Man of the Match’ award for a stunning display that helped India defeat their neighbours.

Axar Patel

Axar Patel also features on this list of Indian players who won the ‘Man of the Match’ award on their T20I debut. He made his debut against Zimbabwe on 17 July 2015. Team India in their innings, scored 178 runs at the loss of five wickets.

Zimbabwe, chasing a big total, could only score 124 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Axar picked up three wickets in his spell, giving away just 17 runs, as helped India restrict Zimbabwe and was deservedly given the ‘Man of the Match’ award on his debut.

Barinder Sran

Another Indian player who won the ‘Man of the Match’ award on his T20I debut against Zimbabwe, Barinder Sran first turned out for the Men in Blue on 20 June 2016. He helped India bowl out the opposition team for just 99 runs, which they easily chased down the target in 13.1 overs without losing a single wicket.

In his four-over spell, Sran gave away just ten runs, whilst also amassing four wickets. Subsequently, he was adjudged as the best performer among all of the Indian players, however, the 27-year-old’s career has undergone a downward spiral ever since.

Navdeep Saini

Navdeep Saini is the last Indian player to have won a ‘Man of the Match’ award on his T20I debut. He achieved this feat against the West Indies, on 3rd August 2019.

Saini picked up three wickets, in his four-over spell, giving away just 17 runs, which ultimately helped the Indian team to restrict the West Indies to a total of 95 runs. They chased down the target in 17.2 overs, at the cost of six wickets.