List of matches that ended in a tie at the men's T20 World Cup ft. Namibia vs Oman
The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup witnessed its fourth tie ever as Oman and Namibia played out a low-scoring thriller on Sunday (June 2). It was Namibia who won the super over and started their campaign with a much-needed victory.
Defending a below-par score of 109, the Oman bowlers inspired by a sensational spell from Mehran Khan took the game to the super over before eventually being blown away in the one-over eliminator. The pitch seemed to be a two-paced track where run-scoring became increasingly difficult as the game progressed.
Hardly any batter from either team could score at over run-a-ball, which summed up the conditions at the Kennington Oval in Bridgetown. Both pacers and the spinners had a dream day at the office, which will surely give bowlers a lot of confidence going forward in the competition.
Having said that, let us have a look at all four tied matches in the history of the T20 World Cup:
#1 India vs Pakistan, 2007 T20 World Cup
It was the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup and arch-rivals India and Pakistan met each other in the 10th match of the competition. India's opening match against Scotland was washed out due to rain so it was effectively India's first match of the competition. They had just played a solitary T20I ahead of the tournament.
On a sluggish pitch at the Kingsmead in Durban, it was Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik who won the toss and put India to bat. The Men in Blue were jolted early by a sensational spell from Mohammad Asif which reduced them to 36/4.
A brilliant fifty from Robin Uthappa and then vital contributions from Irfan Pathan and MS Dhoni propelled India to a score of 141, which didn't look enough at the halfway stage. However, the Indian bowlers kept squeezing the Pakistan batters and picked wickets at regular intervals.
Irfan Pathan was the wrecker-in-chief with a couple of wickets to his name. The match seemed dead and buried when Sreesanth conceded a couple of boundaries in the final over. With two required off the final over, Misbah failed to make proper contact as the match ended in a tie.
The concept of super over wasn't prevalent back then and the outcome of the match was to be decided by a bowl out. The Indians had actually practised hitting the stumps and all three (including Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa) hit the bullseye while Pakistan missed the target on all three occasions which eventually handed India a memorable win.
#2 New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, 2012 T20 World Cup
Back in 2012, we witnessed a couple of super-overs in a single edition of the T20 World Cup. The first of them came in the group game between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The match went down to the wire with Sri Lanka eventually winning the one-over eliminator.
New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor won the toss and opted to bat and ended up posting a competitive score of 174 in their allotted 20 overs. Rob Nicol and Martin Guptill stitched together a brilliant opening stand to lay the foundation with Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor also chipping in with useful knocks.
The Kiwis lost their way towards the latter half of the innings as Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga bowled some tidy death overs. Sri Lanka stamped their authority on the game in the first seven overs, racing off to 80 in no time. Tillekeratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawerdene came out all guns blazing to minimize the pressure for the middle order.
However, some good overs from Daniel Vettori, James Franklin and Nathan McCullum made the game interesting and eventually Sri Lanka couldn't quite get over the finish line. New Zealand needed 14 runs to chase in the super over and it was Lasith Malinga who did a brilliant job in defending the score.
#3 West Indies vs New Zealand, 2012 T20 World Cup
New Zealand were at the receiving end of another super-over loss in the same edition of the T20 World Cup. The low-scoring thriller at Pallekelle was decided in a super over and it was the eventual champions, West Indies who went on to register a victory.
On a two-paced track, it was Ross Taylor who put West Indies in and it was a struggle for them right from the outset. Doug Bracewell and Tim Southee bowled brilliantly and bagged three wickets each to rattle the West Indies top and the middle order. Crucial knocks from Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Kieron Pollard took them to a score of 139.
The West Indies' new ball attack comprising Samuel Badree and Ravi Rampaul started off with some purpose and reduced them to 52/3 at the end of the 9th over. Boundaries were few and far between and that is when captain Ross Taylor led from the front and took his side within touching distance of the victory target.
Taylor remained unbeaten on 62 but couldn't quite take his side over the finish line. He did well in the super over again, smashing a four and six to give a target of 18 runs to West Indies. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels smashed a six each to seal the deal for the Caribbean team with a delivery to spare.
#4 Oman vs Namibia, 2024 T20 World Cup
Not many would have given Oman a chance of defending a below-par score of 109 after being put into bat by the Namibian skipper Gerhard Erasmus. Oman was rocked early, with Rubel Trumplemann reducing them to 0/2 after the first two deliveries.
Important contributions from Khalid Kail and Zeeshan Maqsood propelled them to 109 which looked well below par despite the tackiness in the pitch. Trumplemann and David Wiese were the pick of the bowlers, bagging four and three wickets, respectively as Oman couldn't provide any launchpad for themselves to go big in the latter overs.
For Oman, Bilal Khan provided an early breakthrough but a partnership between Nikolaas Davin and Jan Frylinck got them back on track. While they didn't lose a wicket for eight overs, they couldn't quite find the boundaries and even struggled to rotate the strike.
Mehran Khan was the pick of the bowlers for Oman and it was the pacer who eventually held his nerves in the final over to take the match to the super over. It was a strange decision from the Oman management and the skipper to hand the ball to Bilal Khan for the super over when Mehran had just bowled a sensational final over.
David Wiese smashed a four and six off the first two deliveries before Erasmus struck a couple of boundaries to set a target of 22 for Oman. Wiese was brilliant with the ball as well and nailed his yorkers perfectly to win it for Namibia.