The longest format of cricket has seen many legendary performances over the years. But there have been some great cricketers who made it a habit of performing for their team in Test matches. The longest format is such that the match cannot be won by one player’s performance. But more often than not some cricketers with either bat or ball in hand produce magical moments that assist their team to win the game. Here are the players with the most man of the matches in Test.
Jacques Kallis, 23
The South-African all-rounder is surely the legend of the format. Jacques Kallis was probably the greatest all-rounder to ever play the game. Kallis made his debut in test matches in 1995. For more than 15 years the stalwart ensured many wins for his team.
With the bat in hand, he scored 13,289 runs at an unimaginably average of 55.37. Kallis made 58 fifties, 45 hundred and two double centuries. His batting heroics alone would have been enough to walk into any test team that played during his era.
With the ball in hand, Kallis took 292 wickets in 166 matches. He took 5 five-wicket hauls. His career strike rate was 69.29.
These great performances earned 23 Man of the Match awards.
Muttiah Muralitharan, 19
Regarded by many as the greatest bowler in test history features second on this list. Muttiah Muralitharan still holds the record for most wickets in the format.
With 800 scalps to his name, it is no surprise that he is second on this list. But to get those 800 wickets at an average of just 22.73 is something that can only be achieved by some superhuman. In the 133 matches he played for Sri Lanka, he took 67 five-wicket hauls and 22 times he took ten wickets in a match.
In a career that spanned almost 18 years, the spin wizard from Sri Lanka won 19 man of the matches awards.
Wasim Akram, 17
The left-arm speedster was arguably the scariest bowler of his time. There was never any doubt about Wasim Akram’s abilities once he made his debut. In his just second test match he bagged a five-wicket haul in both innings and announced his arrival to the format in style. In the 104 test matches he played for Pakistan, Akram took 414 wickets which included 25 five wicket hauls and 5 ten wicket hauls. He was more than a handy batter too. With the bat he had 7 fifties, 3 hundreds and 1 double hundred.
Akram bagged 17 man of the match awards for his heroics.
Also Read: Top 10 forgotten IPL stars
“Get more sports news, cricket news, and football updates, log on to sportsdigest.in. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.”
