Top 5 super-overs in IPL history
Ever since the ECB invented T20 cricket for their county league in 2003, the shortest format of the game has been a revelation. It has raged through fans like wildfire and truly is an intrinsic part of the game today. The Indian Premier League has been a gargantuan success right from its inception and the T20 format has a lot to do with.
Why would it not?
It is entertaining. It is fast-paced. And, unless weather decides to intrude, it always gives the audience a winner. The super-over has been a delicious component of T20 cricket and has given us some nerve-wracking memories, especially in the IPL.
As we inch closer to a milestone 10th season of the IPL, let us look at its top 5 matches through the seasons that went all the way, and then went a bit beyond! However, before reliving these memories, let’s look at the basic rules of a super-over.
- The super-over, or the one-over eliminator, is played to determine the winner after the match is tied.
- The team which bats second in the main match bats first in the super-over.
- Three batsmen are nominated by each side for the super-over which means that if a team can lose a maximum of two wickets.
- One player can either bat or bowl in the super-over. If the player has bowled the super-over, he cannot bat for his team in the super-over and vice versa.
In case the super-over is tied too,
- The team with the maximum number of boundaries (main match + super-over) wins.
- The team with the maximum number of boundaries (main match) wins.
- If the main match was affected by rain and D/L method was used, the team scoring maximum runs off the last delivery of the super-over (including the extras) wins.
Here are the top 5 super-over matches of the Indian Premier League.
#5 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2013
The IPL 2013 was an eventful affair. On one hand, Chris Gayle scored a monstrous 175 off 66 balls and on the other hand, three Rajasthan Royals players were arrested for spot-fixing. It had a riveting Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Superkings final, which was won by Mumbai, who lifted their first ever IPL trophy and ended Sachin’s IPL career on a high.
What made the tournament special was that it witnessed two super-over matches in its group stage. That had never happened in any other edition of the IPL. Surprisingly, the Royal Challengers Bangalore were a part of both these matches.
Let us talk about the earlier match which was between Sunrises Hyderabad and RCB at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. After the scores were tied at 130-each, Cameron White and Thisara Perera took guard against Vinay Kumar in the super-over.
They set a total of 20 with Virat Kohli’s team needing 21 to win. The captain walked out with Chris Gayle to try and do the same against a fiery Dale Steyn.
Super-over | SRH | RCB |
Ball 1 | No ball(1 +1) 1 |
2 |
Ball 2 | 1 | 1 |
Ball 3 | 1 | 4 |
Ball 4 | 6 | 1 |
Ball 5 | 6 | 6 |
Ball 6 | 2 | 1 |
Total | 20 | 15 |
The super-over, and consequently the match, was tilted in the home team’s favour as soon as White hit those mammoth sixes against Vinay Kumar. It put RCB on the defensive instantly. Vinay Kumar’s no ball off the first delivery of the super-over also gave the hosts two extra runs and another ounce of confidence immediately.
Dale Steyn fired two spot-on yorkers which put the batsmen under tremendous pressure. His experience, backed up by the good work from his teammates earlier, is what got SRH over the line.
An important lesson from this super-over was to not give the opposition any extra runs and to avoid length deliveries at all costs – all the three sixes hit in the super-over were off length deliveries.