In Pics- Top five: Most Man of the Match awards in ODIs

One of the best cricketers of all time, India's Sachin Tendulkar, over his 23-year long ODI career broke and set innumerable records in ODI cricket. From the highest run-getter to most centuries in the format, the maestro, even long after his retirement is at the top of the pile when it comes to holding records. Through his ODI career, there were several occasions when Sachin led the way for the team with his incredible batting performances. With 62 Man of the match awards in 463 ODIs, Sachin sits right at the top of this list and that too by a big margin. The legendary batsman also had 15 Man of the series titles -- also the most by a batsman in ODIs. Sachin scored 18,426 ODI runs in his career, with 49 centuries and a highest score of 200 not out.

Another legend from the sub-continent, Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya was an out and out magician with the bat in hand. The opener, during the course of his career, changed the way teams approached limited overs batting at the top of the innings. While others looked to play cautiously, Jayasuriya showed the world how to take advantage of the field restrictions. With a number of incredible performances, Jayasuriya on several occasions took Sri Lanka to victory and was highly rated among the best in the world. During his 22-year long ODI career, Jayasuriya was adjudged the Man of the Match on 48 occasions -- second most behind Sachin Tendulkar. The left-hander with his dynamic and explosive batting, single-handedly changed the course of the game. With 13,430 career ODI runs and 28 tons, Jayasuriya also received 11 Man of the series awards in his glittering career.

He is 12 years old in international cricket and the only active cricketer on this list. One of the modern-day greats, Virat Kohli has been unstoppable in the last few years. With hard work and immaculate concentration levels, Kohli has emerged as the top batsman in recent times and has been breaking records almost at will. Nicknamed the 'chase master', Virat has excelled in chasing down opposition totals. And that has earned him a lot of accolades. Thanks to his prolific run with the bat, Virat has already collected 36 Man of the Match prizes and currently sits in third place on this list. With age on his side, the Indian batting master seems set to break many more records in the future. Although eclipsing Sachin's all-time record might be an uphill task for the modern-day sensation, Kohli with his never say die attitude is a serious contender for the top spot. Kohli also has 9 Man of the Series awards under his belt -- joint third on that list with South Africa's Shaun Pollock.

With three of the sub-continent players right at the top of the list of players most Man of the Match awards, Pakistan's Shahid Afridi is the fourth on this list from the subcontinent. Along with South Africa's Jacques Kallis and Australia's Ricky Ponting, Afridi is tied in fourth place with 32 Man of the Match awards. Kallis, Ponting and Afridi, were impeccable players for their respective countries, who took their team to new heights in ODI cricket. While Ponting was a master with the bat and a very strong and successful leader, Kallis and Afridi took their side to success with their exploits with both bat and ball. There were numerous occasions when both Afridi and Kallis failed in one aspect of the game but made up for that with the other and in-turn improved their chances of becoming the standout performers in a match. While Kallis (328 ODIs) eventually ended his career as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game, Afridi (398 ODIs) was a standout power hitter and later in his career a very successful spinner. Meanwhile Ponting (375 ODIs), with his immaculate leadership skills and sublime batting, ended his career as an Australian legend.

Three of the greatest batsmen of all time - Sir Viv Richards, Sourav Ganguly and Kumar Sangakkara are tied for fifth place on the list of players with most Man of the Match awards. While Richards received those awards for his match winning knocks for the West Indies in the 70s and 80s, Ganguly and Sangakkara did the same for India and Sri Lanka respectively in the decades to follow. Along with their mind-boggling batting skills, all three were also exceptional leaders for their respective teams. Ganguly in fact also holds the joint record for most consecutive Man of the Match awards - 4 -- with Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan. While Richards received the 31 Man of the Match awards during his 187 ODI career, Sangakkara played 404 games for his 31 titles. Ganguly, on the other hand, got his 31 player of the match awards in 311 ODIs in which he represented India. Richards and Ganguly also won 7 Man of the Series awards each, while Sangakkara was the Man of the tournament on 5 occasions.