Travis Head will be remembered forever for his exploits in the ODI World Cup Final in 2023. Better players have come and gone, but that knock will etch his name into the memory. That’s what performances at the biggest stage do. Similarly, Mohammed Siraj‘s 6-wicket haul in the Asia Cup Final in 2023 won’t be forgotten.
The third edition of the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) T20 Asia Cup will commence on September 9. Someone new will similarly go down in history. Who will it be? We don’t know yet. But in the meantime, check out Player of the Match (POTM) award winners in every Asia Cup Final to date.
‘Player of the Match’ in every Asia Cup Final (T20I)
Left-handed batters seem to have a stronghold here. India’s Shikhar Dhawan’s 60-run knock helped India chase down the 121-run target with 7 balls to spare. As for Bhanuka Rajapaksa, his unbeaten knock took Sri Lanka from 58/5 to 170 and sealed a 23-run win.
| Edition | Champions | POTM |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | India | Shikhar Dhawan (60 runs) |
| 2022 | Sri Lanka | Bhanuka Rajapaksa (71*) |
‘Player of the Match’ in every Asia Cup Final (ODI)
In the 14 editions of the ODI Asia Cup, only two batters have won the POTM award twice in the final. Mohammad Azharuddin back-to-back in 1991 and 1992, while Marvan Atapattu took a 7-year break after getting his first in 1997.
| Edition | Champions | POTM |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | India | Surinder Khanna (56 runs & 2 stumpings) |
| 1986 | Sri Lanka | Javed Miandad (67 runs) |
| 1988 | India | Navjot Singh Sidhu (76 runs) |
| 1990-91 | India | Mohammad Azharuddin (54* runs) |
| 1995 | India | Mohammad Azharuddin (90* runs) |
| 1997 | Sri Lanka | Marvan Atapattu (84* runs) |
| 2000 | Pakistan | Moin Khan (56* runs & 1 catch) |
| 2004 | Sri Lanka | Marvan Atapattu (65 runs) |
| 2008 | Sri Lanka | Ajantha Mendis (6 wickets for 13 runs) |
| 2010 | India | Dinesh Karthik (66 runs) |
| 2012 | Pakistan | Shahid Afridi (32 runs & 1 wicket) |
| 2014 | Sri Lanka | Lasith Malinga (5 wickets) |
| 2018 | India | Litton Das (121 runs) |
| 2023 | India | Mohammed Siraj (6 wickets for 21 runs) |
