A super over or a one-over eliminator is played in cricket when a match is tied. This happens when both teams score the same number of runs in their respective innings. The super-over replaced the bowl-out in 2008 as a tiebreaker.
The super over can be seen as a mini innings of six balls. Once the match ends in a tie, the team batting second is put to bat first in the super over. The bowling side decides the end from which the bowler will bowl the super over. Each team has two wickets in hand. If two wickets fall before the completion of six balls, the innings comes to an end. The opposition team then bats next to chase the score of the team that batted first.
Controversies arose when scores in the super over were also tied. In the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final, New Zealand and England scored the same number of runs in the super over. The match was later decided by the higher number of boundaries scored by the team, which resulted in England being declared the winner. This caused a stir among cricket fans and pundits after which the laws were revised.
According to the new laws, if same number of runs were scored in a super over played in a group stage match, the match was declared a tie. However, if the super over was tied in a knockout match, then another super over is played after five minutes till one of the sides scores more runs.
Ever since it was first played to decide the winner of the match between West Indies and New Zealand in 2008, the super over has been used in over sixteen matches to decide the winner. It has thrice been used in men’s One Day International matches, one of which was the 2019 Men’s World Cup final. Additionally, as of January 2025, a super over has decided the outcome of 22 men’s T20 internationals, four women’s one day internationals, and two women’s T20 internationals. Runs that are scored or wickets taken by the cricketers during the super over do not add to their career statistics.
A super over has thus proven to be a balanced alternative to decide the winner of a tied match, compared to the bowl-out, where the onus was only on the bowlers.
