• Krunal Pandya earned the Player of the Match award in the IPL 2025 final.

  • Riding on Krunal's bowling heroics, RCB won their first-ever IPL title.

Complete list of Player of the Match winners in IPL Final since 2008 to 2025
List of Player of the Match winners in each IPL Final (Image Source: X)

From Yusuf Pathan’s barnstorming cameo in the very first Indian Premier League final to Krunal Pandya’s ice-cool spell that sealed Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s long-awaited crown in 2025, the Player of the Match (POTM) award has become a time-capsule of the league’s biggest nights. Every season’s finale has produced its own solitary hero, a cricketer who rose above the fireworks and fanfare to tilt the contest. Here is a look at how that honour has unfolded across 18 championship evenings.

RCB finally lift the trophy in 2025

The 2025 finale at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium delivered a watershed moment: RCB shook off 18 seasons of near-misses by toppling Punjab Kings. All-rounder Krunal, drafted for his big-match temperament, justified the call with figures of 4-0-17-2, throttling PBKS in the middle overs and earning a second career POTM in an IPL final—the first man to achieve that repeat feat.

What makes the award special

Unlike season-long prizes decided by aggregating numbers, the POTM for the final rewards a single burst of brilliance under maximum pressure. It encapsulates the essence of T20 cricket: one spell, one innings, or even one over can rewrite the record books and, in many cases, a franchise’s history. For fans, the roll of honour is a memory lane; for players, it is a stamp of legacy.

Also READ: Irfan Pathan reveals his best XII of IPL 2025; Shreyas Iyer to lead the elite team

Season-by-season list of POTM winners

  • 2008Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals)
  • 2009 – Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)
  • 2010 – Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings)
  • 2011 – Murali Vijay (Chennai Super Kings)
  • 2012 – Manvinder Bisla (Kolkata Knight Riders)
  • 2013 – Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians)
  • 2014 – Manish Pandey (Kolkata Knight Riders)
  • 2015 – Rohit Sharma (Mumbai Indians)
  • 2016 – Ben Cutting (Sunrisers Hyderabad)
  • 2017 – Krunal Pandya (Mumbai Indians)
  • 2018 – Shane Watson (Chennai Super Kings)
  • 2019 – Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians)
  • 2020 – Trent Boult (Mumbai Indians)
  • 2021 – Faf du Plessis (Chennai Super Kings)
  • 2022 – Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans)
  • 2023 – Devon Conway (Chennai Super Kings)
  • 2024 – Mitchell Starc (Kolkata Knight Riders)
  • 2025 – Krunal Pandya (Royal Challengers Bengaluru)

Also READ: From Virat Kohli to Shreyas Iyer: Team of the tournament for IPL 2025

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