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‘Man of the match’ award – as the name suggests, is given to a particular player for outstanding performance whether it is in the winning cause or at times, losing cause. In the history of cricket, we have rarely seen the ‘man of the match’ award being shared by two players. It is even rarer to see the whole team receiving the ‘man of the match’ award. Here is a look at three occasions where the team was given the ‘man of the match’ award instead of a single player.
New Zealand vs West Indies 4th ODI, 1996
In a low-scoring affair in Georgetown, New Zealand managed to score 158 after West Indies skipper Courtney Walsh won the toss and opted to field first. Openers Craig Spearman and Nathan Astle got New Zealand off to a good start. However, New Zealand middle order failed to make a mark. Chris Cairns tried to get New Zealand to a respectable score but did not have much support from the end. New Zealand were bundled out for 158 with 14.1 overs left in the innings.
In reply, none of the West Indies batters went on to get a big score and anchor the run chase after playing themselves in. Kiwi bowlers made them struggled not just for boundaries but singles as well. Only Roland Holder stood out of the lot as he remained unbeaten for 49. Holder remained stranded on one end as West Indies got all out with five balls to spare. While Gavin Larsen and Chris Harris were highly economical, it was a total team effort. Three bowlers took two wickets each whereas three bowlers took one wicket each and one batter got run out.
As one single player did not deliver an outstanding performance, the whole New Zealand team was awarded ‘man of the match’ for the narrow four-run win in a match that was expected to be one-sided affair after first innings.
England vs Pakistan 3rd ODI, 1996
In the third ODI of the bi-lateral series, Pakistan pulled off a team effort to beat England by two wickets with two balls to spare.
While none of the players from the winning team stood out, it was a Nick Knight show with the bat. English opener Knight carried his bat after scoring an unbeaten 125 off 145 deliveries. He stayed in the middle for 210 minutes while few English batters got off to good starts but could not convert. The second top-scorer was skipper Mike Atherton with 30 runs from 48 deliveries. As England lost five wickets for 30 runs in the slog overs, they managed 246.
For Pakistan, Wasim Akram took three wickets for 45 runs whereas Waqar Younis, Shahid Nazir and Saqlain Mushtaq took two wickets each.
Chasing 247, opener Saeed Anwar top-scored with 61 off 59 deliveries. Anwar shared a 93-run opening partnership with Shahid Anwar who scored 37 runs from 44 deliveries. Ijaz Ahmed scored half-century as well. Ijaz scored 59 runs from 88 deliveries as he shared crucial partnerships with Saeed and Aamer Sohail. In the middle overs, Pakistan lost four wickets for just 22 runs. Sohail got out after contributing 29 runs. Shadab Kabir, Asif Mujtaba and Akram could not contribute much to score score.
Ijaz anchored the run chase but got out in the slog overs. Wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif took up the mantle to finish off the run chase. Saqlain Mushtaq provided some support with 12 runs from 18=7 deliveries but it was Latif's unbeaten 31 that guided Pakistan home in the final over. In the Pakistan team, only two players – Kabir and Mujtaba – did not make useful contributions. In the end, the whole Pakistan team was awarded the ‘man of the match’.
West Indies vs South Africa 5th Test 1999
While the above two were nail-biting affairs, this one turned to be a one-sided win for Hansie Cronje-led South African side. After winning the toss, Brian Lara won the toss and opted to field first. South Africa got off to a poor start as Courtney Walsh got the wickets of both openers. From the other end, Nixon McLean got the wicket of Daryll Cullinan. A young Jacques Kallis took the job of rebuilding the innings and scored 83 runs. Lower down the order, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher scored 100 runs. South Africa managed to put 313 on the board in the Centurion Test.
When West Indies came to bat, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock removed the openers early with the new ball. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Lara did the damage control with 97-run partnership. Lara scored 68 off 77 deliveries. Donald provided the breakthrough. Lance Klusener then removed Chanderpaul (39) and Carl Hooper. With the old ball, Donald cleaned up the tail with support from Pollock and Kallis. West Indies were bowled out for 144 in just 47.1 overs.
With a 169-run lead in the bag, South Africa dominated West Indies bowlers. After a two-ball duck in the first innings, Kirsten led from the front. Kirsten and Gibbs shared an 82-run opening partnership with the latter scoring 51 runs. Kallis did not get a big score whereas Cullinan failed again. Kirsten and Cronje frustrated Caribbean bowlers with the 107-run partnership. Cronje scored a half-century whereas Kirsten went on to score 134. Later on, Jonty Rhodes played an ODI-like innings scoring 103 runs from just 95 deliveries including eight fours and six sixes. Rhodes remained not out as South Africa declared after posting 399/5 on the board.
Chasing a humongous target of 569, West Indies openers disappointed again as Donald and Pollock struck again with the new ball. Chanderpaul scored 43 runs but the middle-order disappointed. Left-arm spinner with a unique bowling action, Paul Adams came into play and got the wickets of Lara and Floyd Reifer. Ridley Jacobs tried to do a Rhodes by taking on the bowlers. Jacobs and McLean shaerd an 81-run partnership for the seventh wicket but could not delay the inevitable. After McLean's (33) wicket, Jacobs went on to score 48 runs from 92 deliveries including 12 fours and one six. Kallis came back into the attack and got his wicket. In the end, Adams got rid of tailenders as West Indies got all out for 217, losing the match by 351 runs.
In the end, three South African batters scored centuries, a couple got half-centuries whereas Donald took a five-wicket haul followed by Adams' four-fer in the last innings. As a result, the man of the match award was not given to a particular player but the whole team.
