Man of the match...match of the man

‘Man of the match’, as the name suggests, is the recognition of the best individual effort in a match.

Cricket is a funny game. In one of its sweet hypocrisies it felicitates an 'individual' for all its clichéd claims of being a 'team' sport. 

A man-of-the-match for all practical purposes is an individual who, more than any of the remaining 21 players, changed (or threatened to change, as in some cases) the course of the match. The awardee is a no-brainer on most occasions. Occasionally there is a cliffhanger of a match with multiple heroes and the award becomes a bit  unfair to a few other equally deserving performers, but it is all good as long as it isn't unreasonable.

And then there is the odd instance where the award evokes a chuckle. A decision that appears like it was taken by  a bunch of 6 year olds. It gives us scope to ponder over the vagaries in the adjudication.

Case in point, the recently concluded  first Test Match between India and South Africa at Nagpur .

Hashim Amla was awarded the man-of-the-match for his resilient double century in South Africa's only batted innings. Without doubt it was an innings of character. An innings that helped South Africa amass over 550 runs in their first act on a foreign soil. The heroic aspect of this innings was that it was staged from a team score of 2 down for 6. But for all its substance, was Amla's batting a match changing event ? Was it a singularly superior achievement from among the 22 players who participated in the match ? Weren't there 3 other centurions in the same match ?

In the same match, I witnessed an extraordinary performance from another gentleman. An individual performance that was more match-sealing, more consequential, more dismantling than anything from the 21 others participating in the match.

Dale Steyn, on 8th February, put India out of the match and out of contention for the series in a short matter of 16 overs; something that can not be said too often of a guest bowler playing against India in India.

In what would perhaps be the sharpest and most consequential  7-for and a 10-for by a foreigner since a long time, Steyn delivered a resounding slap in the hosts face.  It wasn't just individual brilliance that lasted a session or a day, it was one of those rare performances which rode beyond the current match well into the next one. In one quick draw of the gun Steyn took out all chances of India wining the series, and those of South Africa losing it. He put South Africa in a bonus position where they - for all their abundant talent and capability - have nothing to lose in the series any more. 


Considering the importance of this series with the lucrative #1 ranking hanging at stake for both teams, Steyn's match winning performance at Nagpur is as substantial as it gets. 


I can not think of a more appropriate candidate for the man-of-the-match award at Nagpur, than Dale Steyn.

India, if it is to retain its top honour in the ICC table, is now left with the task of stopping the South African momentum and reversing it. And they have just one Test to do it in.