Winning the man of the match award is always special and a memorable feeling for every cricketer. Being able to contribute to the country and taking the team to victories is a dream of all the cricketers. And when someone achieves the feat at a place like Lord’s, the significance becomes more special. Here is a list of the four Indian cricketers who have won man of the match award at Lord’s in the Tests. Let’s get to know more about their involvement and contribution to the match.
Dilip Vengsarkar
For the first time ever an Indian cricketer became the man of the match at Lord’s in the 1979 India tour of England. In the 2nd test match of India vs England, Dilip Vengsarkar smashed his first-ever century at Lord’s and scored a total of 103 runs off 295 balls. In the first innings of this match he got out for a duck but he made a grand comeback and scored the century and won the man of the match award. Also, he is the only cricketer to score 3 Test centuries at Lord’s. After his century in 1979, he scored 157 runs off 264 balls in 1982 and scored his third century at Lord’s in 1986. In the 1st innings of the first test against England, he took 213 balls to score 126 runs which helped the team to a historical test win at Lord’s.
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Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev is the only Indian cricketer who has won the man of the match award twice at Lord’s.
The first was in the 1st test match of India tour of England 1982. In the first innings of the match, he picked up a fifer and scored 41 runs off 69 runs while batting. In the second innings, he smashed 89 runs in only 55 balls including 13 fours and 3 sixes. Also, he picked up 3 wickets and gave 43 runs. Though India couldn’t win the match, the man of the match was awarded to Kapil Dev for his impressive innings.
The second time was in the 1st test match of India tour of England 1986 when Kapil Dev won the man of the match award at Lord’s. This match has a very unique significance in the history of Indian cricket. India registered their first test win at the Lord’s ground in this match. Kapil Dev and his men in blue created history and defeated England by 5 wickets. In the 1st match of the 3-match series, the former Indian captain Kapil Dev took and led the team to the victory.
In the second innings of the match, he picked up 4 wickets for 52 runs. During the time of crisis, the captain paved the way into victory by scoring 23 runs in only 10 balls. His fiery performance included 4 fours and a winning 6. Dilip Vengsarkar had a huge contribution to the team’s victory as he scored a mammoth 126 runs
Ishant Sharma
In the 2nd Investec test of India tour of England 2014, Ishant Sharma won the man of the match award at Lord’s for the first time. His extraordinary bowling on this match is considered one of the most memorable spells in Indian fast bowling history. His aggressive and clever performance made sure to destroy England’s batting lineup in no time. Though his performance in the 1st innings was not memorable worth, he changed his pattern entirely in the 2nd innings. He scalped 7 wickets in 23 overs with an economy of 3.21. Ishant Sharma was awarded the man of the match award for his aggressive performance and India won the first match by 95 runs.
Read also: ENG vs IND: Highest Opening partnership for Indian in tests in England
KL Rahul
KL Rahul, the current Indian opener played beautifully and scored 129 runs in the first innings of the 2nd test match of India vs England. He enlisted his name at Lord’s honors boards by scoring a century. His crucial knock in the 1st innings helped the Indian team to add a wholesome run to the scoreboard and defeat England by 1-0. By scoring this century, he made a total of 6 Test centuries and his first at Lord’s.
