Super Over

A Super Over,^[1][2] also called a one-over eliminator^[3][4] or simply an eliminator,^[5] is a tie-breaking method used in limited-overs cricket matches. The super over is a reduced version of the match that consists only of one over (six balls) and two wickets for each team. The official result of the match would be a "tie" but within the context of the tournament or series, the winning team of the "Super Over" is declared the winner of the match and the victory is seen as equivalent of one earned in a regular match. Runs scored in super overs do not count towards a player's statistical record. The Super Over was first used in 2008 in Twenty20 cricket, replacing the bowl-out method that was previously used for breaking a tie. The Super Over is primarily used in Twenty20 cricket.

The Super Over was introduced into One Day International cricket at the 2011 Cricket World Cup knockout stage, where a game ending in a tie would have been decided via Super Over,^[6] but it was not used, as no 2011 knockout games were tied. For the following World Cup in 2015, only the final would be decided by a Super Over in the event of a tie. Ties in other knockout-stage matches returned to the previous rule where the team with the better group stage performance would advance.^[7][8]

Contrary to the tie-breaking methods used in other sports, the Super Over is often used in the group stage of Twenty20 tournaments. Journalist Sambit Bal described this use as being unnecessary for situations outside knockout stages. He sees a tie being a satisfactory result both to the teams and in entertainment value.^[9] Mike Hesson, the coach of the New Zealand national cricket team, also criticised the Super Over after his team lost two Super Overs in the Super Eight group stage of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 and finished bottom of their group.^[10]

Rules

The International Cricket Council state the official rules for Super Overs in the Standard Twenty20 International Match Playing Conditions, in effect from 1 October 2012.^[11][12] A Super Over determines the winner of matches ending with the scores tied according to the following rules:

• Weather permitting, the Super Over will commence 10 minutes after the main match.Each team bats one over under the same restrictions as for the final over in a pool match.
• The team batting second in the main match will bat first in the Super Over.
• The bowler of the batting team can not both bat and bowl in the same super over
• Each side has three nominated batsmen, meaning that the loss of two wickets ends the Super Over.
• In the event of the scores being level in the Super Over, the first satisfied of the following criteria will determine the winner:
  1. If the regular match utilised the Duckworth–Lewis method, criterion 4 immediately applies.
  2. The team with the most number of boundaries combined from the main match and the Super Over is the winner.
  3. The team with the most number of boundaries from the main match (that is, not including the Super Over) is the winner.
  4. A count-back from the final ball of the Super Over shall be conducted. The team with the higher scoring delivery is the winner. Runs scored from illegal deliveries count towards the total for the following legal delivery.

Before 1 October 2010, Super Overs ending in a tie had the winner first decided by the number of boundary sixes the teams hit in both innings, then by the sixes hit in the main match.^[13]

This rule was applied on 5 May 2010 in a 2010 ICC Women's World Twenty20 match between Australia and England, won by Australia by scoring more sixes in both innings.^[14][15] In the 2014 Indian Premier League, a Super Over used in a tied match between the Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders was also tied as both teams scored 11 runs. The match was won by the Rajasthan Royals as they had hit more sixes during the main match.

Variations

In the 2014–15 season, the Big Bash League began using a variation of the rules, allowing each innings the full amount of 10 wickets.^[16]

Example

Chris Gayle scored 25 runs in the first Super Over

The first implementation of Super Overs was in the tied Twenty20 match between the West Indies and New Zealand on 26 December 2008. West Indies scored 25/1 in their super over and New Zealand replied with 15/2.^[17] This particular match was a trial of the Super Over concept, and the official result was a tie.^[2]

The 26 December 2008 Twenty20 match between New Zealand and the West Indies was tied after each sides' 20 overs.^[2]

- Daniel Vettori was the "nominated bowler" for New Zealand.

- Chris Gayle and Xavier Marshall opened the "mini-innings".

- Marshall was run out without facing a ball, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul similarly remained at the non-striker's end.

- Gayle hit 25 runs off the 6 balls he faced.

The West Indies "Super Over" score was 25 for 1 from six balls.^[18]

- Sulieman Benn was the nominated bowler for the West Indies.

- NZ opener Jacob Oram was caught on Benn's third "super over" delivery.

- Third man in Ross Taylor hit a six but was then clean bowled on the next ball. Oram's "super over" opening partner Brendon McCullum didn't face a delivery.

The New Zealand Super Over score was 15 for 2 (all out) from five balls.^[18]

The West Indies thus won the Super Over.

Matches decided by Super Over

Twenty20 International

Date	Venue	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	T20I	Ref
26 December 2008	Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand	West Indies	7001250000000000000♠25/1	New Zealand	7001150000000000000♠15 all out	1st	[18]
28 February 2010	AMI Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand	New Zealand	7000900000000000000♠9/0	Australia	7000600000000000000♠6/1	2nd	[19]
7 September 2012	DSC Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Pakistan	7001120000000000000♠12/0	Australia	7001110000000000000♠11/1	2nd	[20]
27 September 2012	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka	7001130000000000000♠13/1	New Zealand	7000700000000000000♠7/1	Match 13	[21]
1 October 2012	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka	West Indies	7001180000000000000♠18/0	New Zealand	7000700000000000000♠17/0	Match 21	[22]
30 November 2015	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates	England	7001180000000000000♠4/0	Pakistan	7000700000000000000♠3/1	3rd	[23]

Domestic Twenty20

Date	Venue	Tournament	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Scorecard	Ref
18 February 2009	Kingsmead, Durban	Standard Bank Pro20	Cape Cobras	7000600000000000000♠6/1	Dolphins	7000300000000000000♠3 all out	Semi-final	[24]
18 February 2009	St George's Park, Port Elizabeth	Standard Bank Pro20	Diamond Eagles	7001160000000000000♠16/0	Warriors	7000500000000000000♠5/1	Semi-final	[25]
23 April 2009	Newlands, Cape Town	Indian Premier League	Rajasthan Royals	7001180000000000000♠18/0	Kolkata Knight Riders	7001150000000000000♠15/1	Match 10	[26]
13 October 2009	Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	Champions League Twenty20	Diamond Eagles	7000900000000000000♠9/1	Sussex Sharks	5000000000000000000♠0 all out	Match 11	[4][27]
26 January 2010	Colin Maiden Park, Auckland	HRV Cup	Otago Volts	7001140000000000000♠14 all out	Auckland Aces	7000800000000000000♠8/1	Match 28	[28]
21 March 2010	M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai	Indian Premier League	Kings XI Punjab	7001100000000000000♠10/1	Chennai Super Kings	7000900000000000000♠9 all out	Match 16	[29]
23 July 2010	Kensington Oval, Bridgetown	Caribbean Twenty20	Barbados	7001160000000000000♠16/1	Combined Campuses and Colleges	7001160000000000000♠16/0	Match 4	[30]
18 September 2010	St George's Park, Port Elizabeth	Champions League Twenty20	Victorian Bushrangers	7001230000000000000♠23/0	Chennai Super Kings	7001130000000000000♠13/0	Match 13	[31][32]
13 January 2011	Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound	Caribbean Twenty20	Hampshire Royals	7000100000000000000♠1/1	Barbados	5000000000000000000♠0 all out	Match 7	[33]
1 July 2011	Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad	Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup	Rawalpindi Rams	7001160000000000000♠16/0	Karachi Dolphins	7000700000000000000♠7/1	Final	[34]
27 August 2011	Edgbaston, Birmingham	Friends Life t20	Leicestershire Foxes	7001150000000000000♠15/0	Lancashire Lightning	7001130000000000000♠13/0	Semi-final 1	[35]
27 August 2011	Edgbaston, Birmingham	Friends Life t20	Somerset	7001160000000000000♠16/0	Hampshire Royals	7000500000000000000♠5/1	Semi-final 2	[36]
28 September 2011	M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai	Champions League Twenty20	New South Wales Blues	7001180000000000000♠18/0	Trinidad and Tobago	7001150000000000000♠15/1	Match 8	[37]
7 December 2012	Lahore City Cricket Association Ground, Lahore	Faysal Bank T20 Cup	Abbottabad Falcons	7000900000000000000♠9/1	Quetta Bears	7000600000000000000♠6/1	Match 37
11 January 2013	Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain	Caribbean Twenty20	Jamaica	7000400000000000000♠4/0	Leeward Islands	7000100000000000000♠2 all out	Match 10	[38]
29 March 2013	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup	Rawalpindi Rams	7001100000000000000♠10/1	Faisalabad Wolves	7000900000000000000♠9/0	Match 11
7 April 2013	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad	Indian Premier League	Sunrisers Hyderabad	7001200000000000000♠20/0	Royal Challengers Bangalore	7001150000000000000♠15/0	Match 7	[39]
16 April 2013	M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	Indian Premier League	Royal Challengers Bangalore	7001150000000000000♠15/0	Delhi Daredevils	7001110000000000000♠11 all out	Match 21	[40]
20 July 2013	National Stadium, Karachi	Ramadan T20 Cup	Khan Research Laboratories	7001170000000000000♠17/0	Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited	7001150000000000000♠15/1	Match 18	[41]
25 July 2013	National Stadium, Karachi	Ramadan T20 Cup	Habib Bank Limited	7001100000000000000♠10/0	Pakistan International Airlines	7000700000000000000♠7 all out	Final	[42]
29 September 2013	Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur	Champions League Twenty20	Otago Volts	7001130000000000000♠13/0	Highveld Lions	7001130000000000000♠13 all out	Match 14	[43]
30 December 2013	Pukekura Park, New Zealand	HRV Twenty20	Auckland Aces	13/0	Central Stags	6 all out		[44]
10 January 2014	Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia	Big Bash League	Perth Scorchers	4/0	Sydney Sixers	1 all out	Match 20	[45]
29 April 2014	Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Indian Premier League	Rajasthan Royals	7001110000000000000♠11/0	Kolkata Knight Riders	7001110000000000000♠11 all out	Match 19	[46]
5 January 2015	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia	Big Bash League	Melbourne Stars	19/0	Sydney Sixers	9/2	Match 17
21 April 2015	Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad, India	Indian Premier League	Kings XI Punjab	15/2	Rajasthan Royals	6/2	Match 18
15 January 2015	Adelaide Oval No. 2, Adelaide	Women's Big Bash League	Adelaide Strikers Women		Melbourne Renegades Women		Weekend 7	[47]
18 November 2015	Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand	Georgie Pie Super Smash	Auckland Aces	6/0	Canterbury Kings	5/2	Match 12

Other Twenty20 matches

Date	Venue	Winner	Score	Loser	Score	Scorecard	Ref	Notes
1 June 2009	Lord's, London	Ireland	7000600000000000000♠6/1	Netherlands	7000200000000000000♠2 all out	Scorecard	[48][49]	2009 ICC World Twenty20 warm-up match
24 June 2012	Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad	India A	7000700000000000000♠7/1	West Indies A	7000400000000000000♠4 all out	Scorecard	[50]	2nd unofficial T20I

See also

• Tiebreaker
• Penalty shoot-out (association football)

References

External links

• List of tied Twenty20 matches on ESPN Cricinfo
• List of tied Twenty20 International matches on ESPN Cricinfo
• Standard Twenty20 International Match Playing Conditions from the International Cricket Council