A Super Over,[1][2] sometimes referred to as an "Eliminator",[3][4] or an 'Oopse' (One Over Per Side Eliminator)[5], is one of two extra overs in a Twenty20 cricket match when the regular match ends in a tie. Instead of equally dividing the points between the two participating teams, the winning team of the "Super Overs" takes all the points. It replaced the Bowlout method that previously was used for breaking a tie in Twenty20. The first implementation of Super Overs was in the match where West Indies defeated New Zealand on December 26, 2008, after two "super overs". The West Indies scored 25/1 in their super over and New Zealand replied with 15/2.[6] The Super Over was introduced into One Day International cricket at the 2011 Cricket World Cup where a knockout-stage game ending in a tie would be decided via Super Over.[7][8]
At the end of a tied regular match and before the Super Over, each team nominates three batsmen and a bowler. The team that scores the most runs in its Super Over is the winner of the match.
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 Windies' "Super Over" score was 25 for 1 from six balls.[9]
- - Sulieman Benn was the nominated bowler for the West Indies.
- - NZ opener Jacob Oram was caught on Benn's third "super over" delivery. The batsmen "crossed" before the catch was taken.
- - Third man in Ross Taylor was clean bowled on the fifth ball. Oram's "super over" opening partner Brendon McCullum didn't face a delivery.
- The Black Caps' Super Over score was 15 for 2 from five balls.[9]
The West Indies thus won the Super Over, and the match.
(This particular match was a trial of the Super Over concept, and the official result was a tie.[2]
If the scores in the Super Over are tied, the match is won by the team that has scored the most 6s in their innings.[10][11] The first reported application of this rule in Twenty20 Internationals was in the 5 May 2010 2010 ICC Women's World Twenty20 match between the Australia national women's cricket team and England women's cricket team. The Super Over scores were tied, but Australia had struck more sixes and was so the winner of the match.[11][12]
| Date | Venue | Winner | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 26, 2008 | Eden Park, Auckland | West Indies 25/1 Chris Gayle 25* (6 balls) Daniel Vettori 0/25 (1 over) |
New Zealand 15/2 Jacob Oram 8 (3 balls) Sulieman Benn 2/15 (0.5 overs)[9] |
| February 28, 2010 | AMI Stadium, Christchurch | New Zealand 9/0 Brendon McCullum 5* (3 balls) Shaun Tait 0/9 (0.3 overs) |
Australia 6/1 Cameron White 4* (3 balls) Tim Southee1/6 (1 over)[13] |
| Date | Venue | Winner | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 23, 2009 | Newlands, Cape Town | Rajasthan Royals 18/0 Yusuf Pathan 18 (4 balls) Ajantha Mendis 0/18 (0.4 overs) |
Kolkata Knight Riders 15/1 Chris Gayle 13 (5 balls) Kamran Khan 1/15 (1.0 overs)[14] |
| March 21, 2010 | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | Kings XI Punjab 10/1 Mahela Jayawardene 6 (2 balls) Muttiah Muralitharan 1/10 (0.4 overs) |
Chennai Super Kings 9/2 Suresh Raina 8 (3 balls) Juan Theron 2/9 (0.5 overs)[15] |
| Date | Venue | Winner | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 13, 2009 | Kotla, Delhi | Diamond Eagles 9/1 The Eagles scored 9 runs off their six balls. |
Sussex Sharks 0/2 Eagle Cornelius de Villiers took two Sussex wickets in two balls, and the Sharks were dismissed without scoring. [4][16] |
| September 18, 2010 | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Victorian Bushrangers 23/0 Victorain David Hussey hit 22 of the 23 runs from Ravichandran Ashwin's over. |
Chennai Super Kings 13/0 Clint McKay bowled his six deleiveries and conceded only 13 runs the Super Kings' Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay.[17] [18] |
| September 28, 2011 | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | New South Wales Blues 18/0 Moises Henriques hit 18 of the 18 runs of the Blues Super Over. |
Trinidad and Tobago 15/1 Lendl Simmons hit well, but T&T fell short of the target by three runs[19] |
| Date | Venue | Winner | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 27, 2011 | Edgbaston, England | Leicestershire Foxes 15/0 |
Lancashire Lightning 13/0[20] |
| August 27, 2011 | Edgbaston, England | Somerset 16/0 |
Hampshire Royals 5/1[21] |
| Date | Venue | Winner | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1, 2009 | Lords, London | Ireland 6/1 |
Netherlands 2/2 [22][23] |
This was a "warm-up" match for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and was not played under the ICC rules of Twenty20 cricket. |