Virat Kohli’s super form surge has marked his dominant return to seemingly his old ways in the ODI format where centuries and fifties pinged off his bat at breakneck pace. Ever since falling for successive ducks in Australia in his first two matches for India after a break of seven months, the former India captain was primed to endure a struggle to get back to his form.
Still, Kohli bounced back in his inimitable way, carving centuries, winning games and walking away with the Player of the Match awards for his efforts. On Sunday, the 37-year-old bagged the 71st Player of the Match award of his epochal 558-match international career. Spanning 18 years of representing India across formats, it can be said that Kohli towers above the rest distinctly in the ODI format which has contributed well over 50 per cent of his PoTM awards.
Registering a match-winning 93 in Vadodara against New Zealand in the series opener, Kohli was awarded his 45th ODI Man of the Match award across 309 appearances. Kohli is second on the overall list, only behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s 76 awards during his career. Tendulkar, however, maintains a healthy lead when it comes to the ODI format which has contributed 62 of his total awards in international cricket. Sri Lanka legend Sanath Jayasuriya ranks second with 48 awards, three ahead of Kohli.
Kohli also delved into what he does with the brimming collection of trophies, revealing that he sends them home to his mother in Gurugram.
Player of the Match awards have been officially instituted in international cricket since the 1980s and does not officially account for nearly a century of games before that era.
Most Player of the Match awards in international cricket
| Player | Span | Mat | Awards | Tests | ODIs | T20Is |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 1989-2013 | 664 | 76 | 14 | 62 | 0 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 2008-2026 | 557 | 71 | 10 | 45 | 16 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (Asia/SL) | 1989-2011 | 586 | 58 | 4 | 48 | 6 |
| Jacques Kallis (Afr/ICC/SA) | 1995-2014 | 519 | 57 | 23 | 32 | 2 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (Asia/ICC/SL) | 2000-2015 | 594 | 50 | 16 | 31 | 3 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS/ICC) | 1995-2012 | 560 | 49 | 16 | 32 | 1 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 2006-2024 | 447 | 45 | 6 | 27 | 12 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 2007-2026 | 506 | 45 | 4 | 27 | 14 |
| Shahid Afridi (Asia/ICC/PAK) | 1996-2018 | 524 | 43 | 0 | 32 | 11 |
| Brian Lara (ICC/WI) | 1990-2007 | 430 | 42 | 12 | 30 | 0 |
