Top 3 Super Overs in cricket history
Cricket is one of the most thrilling sports in the world. The cricket fans all over the world have witnessed several nail-biting finishes in the cricket matches and even matches where both the teams scored the same number of runs in their innings.
On certain occasions, the teams play a super over after the tied encounter to decide the winner of the match. In the super over, both the teams get a chance to play 6 balls and to score as many runs as possible. The team which scores the most runs from that 6 balls wins the match.
Each team is allowed to name 3 batsmen who will play in the super over. If the team loses both the wickets, then their super over comes to an early end. If the match is tied again in the super over, then the winner is decided on the basis of boundaries. The team which scores the maximum boundaries is the winning team.
Before the concept of super over was invented, the tradition of bowl out served the purpose to decide a tied encounter. The super over was first used in 2008 during the T20 match between West Indies and New Zealand. West Indies scored 25/1 from their super over while New Zealand lost both the wickets scoring just 15 runs. Gayle dominated this super over as he scored all the 25 runs in the 6 balls.
Since then, there have many memorable super overs in cricket history. Here are the top 3 super overs which thrilled the fans and pushed them to the edge of their seats -
#1 Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Lions (IPL 2017)
Indian Premier League is the grandest cricket carnival for the Indian cricket fans. It is the largest platform for youngsters to showcase. This super over took place during the IPL 2017 after the world witnessed a tie between the two top-class teams.
While batting first, Gujarat Lions posted 153 on the board. Ishan Kishan, with 48 runs, emerged as the leading run scorer for the Gujarat franchise. The Mumbai Indians also scored the same amount of runs in the second innings which resulted the game to end in a tie. Hence, a super over was used to decide the fate of the match.
Batting first in the super over, Mumbai Indians lost both the wickets for just 11 runs. But the Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah turned the tables in their favour. Bumrah completely outwitted the two master-class batsmen in Finch and McCullum as they scored meagre 6 runs, falling short by 5 runs.
Bumrah bowled yorkers and slower balls in that over, making it difficult for the opposition to score runs and helped his team win the match.