Man of the Match in ICC WTC Final from 2019 to 2025:The ICC World Test Championship (WTC) began in 2019, and so far three editions of this competition have been played. It is played across two years by the top nine ranked Test teams in the ICC Test ranking, with the top two teams clashing in a one-off final, known as the ICC WTC Final.
The ICC WTC is of huge significance for Test cricketers. The ICC introduced this tournament to add more value and context to Test cricket; with the WTC points at stake, even dead rubbers now carry weight.
What the introduction of the ICC did was remove dead rubbers and encourage more result-friendly pitches. In the three WTCs so far, that is, from August 2019 to the ICC WTC Final 2025, only 24 out of 177 Test matches have ended in draws in the WTC cycles.
The winners of the ICC WTC Finals have been New Zealand (2021), Australia (2023), and South Africa (2025). Let us see the Man of the Match in the ICC WTC Finals so far.
Man of the Match in ICC WTC Final – Full List from 2019 to 2025
Kyle Jamieson vs India, Southampton, 2021
India and New Zealand faced off in the inaugural ICC WTC Final, played in Southampton in 2021. In swing-friendly conditions, amid overcast conditions and rain, New Zealand beat India in the ICC WTC Final 2021 by 8 wickets, with pacer Kyle Jamieson bagging the Player of the Match award for his figures of 5/31 & 2/30 and 21 vital runs in New Zealand’s first innings.
The biggest moments of the match were when Jamieson dismissed India captain Virat Kohli in both innings. Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson made important contributions with the bat, scoring 49 and 52*.
Travis Head vs India, The Oval, 2023
India lost their second consecutive ICC WTC Final when they went down by 209 runs against Australia at The Oval in the 2023 ICC WTC Final.
Batting first, Australia piled up 469 runs, courtesy of centuries from Steve Smith (121) and Travis Head (163). Australia were 76/3 when the duo joined hands and produced a terrific partnership of 285 runs. Head counterattacked in his typical fashion, smashing 25 fours and a six, batting at a strike rate of 93 to push India on the backfoot.
India lost by a huge margin of 209 runs. Travis Head was named the Man of the Match for his stunning century.
Aiden Markram vs Australia, Lord’s 2025
This time, defending champions Australia ended up on the losing side despite taking a crucial first-innings lead against Temba Bavuma’s South Africa.
South Africa ended their wait for an ICC trophy—their only ICC title at the senior men’s level was the ICC Knockout Trophy in 2000—as they beat Pat Cummins’ Australia, the favourites going into the title clash, in the ICC WTC Final 2025 at the iconic Lord’s.
The first two days of the match were played under pace-friendly conditions in which Rabada and Cummins took a five-wicket haul, with Australia taking a 74-run lead. South Africa were then set a target of 282 runs.
Fortunately for them, on day 3, the sun shone brightly over Lord’s and the pitch eased out for the batsmen. Still, it required great efforts from Aiden Markram (136) and Bavuma (66), who battled a hamstring injury, to forge a match-winning partnership.
Markram received the Man of the Match award for his outstanding century in the run chase, one that will go down as one of the famous tons in South African Test cricket history.
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