Strangest Man of the Match choices in cricket

#2 Man of the Match for captaincy

A captain's position is always under the scanner, as it is a result of his resource channelization that the team ends up on the winning side or vice versa. There have been many iconic captains to embrace the game of cricket, however, there are only two incidents where captains have received the MoM award for their astute thinking.

English captain Bob Willis received the MoM for his captaincy

One such incident took place in the 1983 World Cup when England took on Sri Lanka in a league stage encounter. The English captain Bob Willis put Sri Lanka to bat on a wicket, which according to Wisden, had little help for the bowlers. However, Willis managed his bowlers to perfection, along with some tactical field placements as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 136. Willis received the Man of the Match award for his shrewd captaincy, ahead of Paul Allot and Graeme Fowler who had their share in runs and wickets.

MS Dhoni won the MoM for boosting his team's morale

When we speak about captaincy and awards, there is one man whom we just cannot miss - Mahendra Singh Dhoni. India faced Pakistan in the third ODI of the 2012-13 series in Delhi, with the visiting side already bagging the series. The Indian team managed just 167 batting first. In what would have been one of the coldest conditions to play, with the temperatures dipping to 1.5-degree Celsius, MS kept the morale of his team, as he channelized his bowlers to perfection, continuously building pressure on Pakistan. Coupled with his majestic field placements, the visiting side yielded to the pressure as they were bowled out for 157, handing India a 10-run victory.

Though MSD top-scored for India with 36, he received the Man of the Match award for boosting the morale of his side in the face of adversities, as he was chosen ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma, the standout bowlers for India.