IPL 2022: Best 3 Super Overs in IPL history
The IPL is famous for its thrilling matches and high-quality cricket. Over the years, fans have witnessed some incredible games in the Indian Premier League. While the cricket universe has seen some marvelous batting performances and great spells, nothing beats the excitement of a Super Over.
The Super Over, also known as the one-over eliminator, helps in deciding the winner of a tied game in the IPL. When both IPL teams score an equal number of runs in a match, a Super Over is used as a tiebreaker.
Both teams then play six balls with two wickets in hand. The team that scores the most runs in the Super Over wins.
On that note, we will take a look at the top three Super Overs in the history of the Indian Premier League.
#1 Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings, IPL 2020
Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) played the first-ever double Super Over in the history of the Indian Premier League two years ago. Both teams scored 176 runs in their 20 overs. Incidentally, both franchises managed only five runs in their respective first Super Overs.
In the second Super Over, MI set a target of 11 runs which was chased down by PBKS in just four deliveries. Many fans regard the IPL 2020 match between MI and PBKS as one of the most thrilling T20 matches ever.
#2 Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders, 2014
It was KKR vs RR Super over in 2014. 3 runs were needed off last ball. Everyone thought Smith will try to go over the top but he delightfully guided the ball & ran 2 & won the game on boundary count
He is such a genius&probably the only one who could have played peak Narine well twitter.com/KKRiders/statu…
Back in 2014, there were no rules for a double or triple Super Over. If a Super Over ended in a tie, then the team that hit the most boundaries would go on to win the contest. Rajasthan Royals (RR) smartly used that rule against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014.
Both franchises scored 152 runs in their 20 overs. KKR batted first and scored 11 runs off James Faulkner's six deliveries. In reply, Steve Smith and Shane Watson aggregated nine runs off the first five balls from Sunil Narine. RR needed three to win the Super Over, but even two runs would have done the job because of the boundary count rule.
Instead of trying for a boundary or a six, Smith just tapped the ball to the offside and stole a couple of runs as RR recorded a famous win against KKR.
#3 Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Lions, 2017
Jasprit Bumrah's masterclass in the Super Over helped the Mumbai Indians prevail over the Gujarat Lions (GL) in a close encounter five years ago. The 20-over match ended in a draw as both sides scored 154 runs.
MI batted first in the Super Over and set a 12-run target for the home team in Rajkot. Defending 12 runs, Bumrah started with a no-ball. T20 specialists Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum were the two batters for Gujarat, and it looked like GL would easily win after the no-ball.
However, Bumrah nailed his yorkers and did not allow the Trans-Tasman duo any easy runs. Considered by many as the best IPL Super Over of all time, Bumrah conceded only a total of six runs and helped MI win by five in the one-over eliminator.