Super Over


Super Over, also known as a one-over eliminator or a one over per side eliminator, is a tie-breaking method used in limited-overs cricket matches similar to overtime in most other sports and extra innings in baseball. If a match ends in a "tie", it proceeds to a Super Over, in which each team plays a single additional over of six balls to determine the winner. The team scoring the most runs in that over is declared the winner.
Following a rule change in October 2019 for knockout and bilateral series matches, if a Super Over ends in a tie, another Super Over is played simlar to baseball and overtime in some sports.

History

A Super Over was first used in 2008 in Twenty20 cricket, replacing the bowl-out method previously used to break a tie. The Super Over was introduced into One Day International cricket at the 2011 Cricket World Cup, but it was not required.
For the following World Cup, a Super Over would be used only to decide the final in the event of a tie. Ties in other knockout-stage matches reverted to the previous rule, where the team with the better group-stage performance would advance. In 2017, the ICC introduced the Super Over for the knockout stages of that year's Women's Cricket World Cup and Champions Trophy.
The 2019 Cricket World Cup Final marked the first-ever ODI to be decided by a Super Over. After the two teams tied on runs in their Super Over, England was declared the winner over New Zealand through the controversial boundary count-back rule, which has since been replaced with the current rules.
The first "double" Super Over was played in the 2020 Indian Premier League T20 Match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings. The first "double" Super Over in an international match was between Afghanistan and India in 2024.
The first "triple" Super Over was played in the Scotland Tri Series T20I Match between Nepal and The Netherlands on 16 June 2025.

Previous iterations and changes

If the teams have played a Super Over and it also ends in a tie, the original rules stated that the winner would be determined by one of the following methods:
  • The total number of boundaries scored throughout the match and Super Over.
  • The total number of boundaries scored throughout the match, excluding the Super Over.
  • A boundary count-back conducted from the last ball of the Super Over.
In the boundary count-back method, if both teams had scored the same number of boundaries, the final ball of the Super Over would be ignored, and the boundary count would be reassessed. If the teams remained tied, the second-to-last ball would also be excluded, and the process would continue until one team was ahead.
If the Duckworth–Lewis method had been used during the match, the Super Over would immediately be decided by the count-back criterion.
Previously, if a Super Over ended in a tie, the winner was first determined by the number of boundary sixes hit by each team across both innings. If still tied, the number of sixes hit in the main match was used as the deciding factor.
After the tied Super Over in the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final, which England won on boundary count, the ICC was criticised by many former cricketers and numerous fans for the use of such a controversial tie-breaker.
In October 2019, the ICC amended the rule:
  • If a Super Over is tied in the group stage of a tournament, the match will be declared a tie.
  • In knockout matches, the Super Over will be repeated until a winner is determined.
  • In any bilateral series match, the Super Over will also be repeated until one team wins.
Each consecutive Super Over must take place five minutes after the previous one. The team that batted second in the previous Super Over will bat first in the next. Any batter dismissed in a previous Super Over is ineligible to bat again.

Rules

The International Cricket Council states the official rules for Super Overs in the Standard Twenty20 International Match Playing Conditions, which have been in effect since 1 October 2012.
Each team selects three batters, and the team's Super Over innings ends if two of their batters are out. The team that batted second in the main match bats first in the Super Over, while the bowling team chooses the end to bowl from. If the Super Over is tied, it is repeated until a winner is determined, although some tournaments may instead conclude the match as a tie. Each consecutive Super Over must take place five minutes after the previous one. The team that batted last in the previous Super Over will bat first in the next, and any batter dismissed in a previous Super Over is ineligible to bat again.

Variations

In the 2014–15 season, the Big Bash League introduced a variation of the rules, allowing each team to use all ten wickets in their Super Over innings.

Scoring

A Super Over is not considered part of the main match; therefore, the runs scored and wickets taken during it are not added to a player's career statistics.

Example

The first-ever Super Over was used in a tied Twenty20 match between the West Indies and New Zealand on 26 December 2008. The West Indies scored 25/1 in their Super Over, while New Zealand replied with 15/2.
The Twenty20 match between New Zealand and the West Indies on 26 December 2008 ended in a tie after both teams completed their 20 overs.
The West Indies thus won the Super Over.

Views on use

The Super Over is often used in the group stage of Twenty20 tournaments. Journalist Sambit Bal described this use as unnecessary outside of knockout stages, arguing that a tie is a satisfactory result for both teams and in terms of entertainment value. Former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson also criticised the practice after his team lost two matches by Super Overs in the Super Eight group stage of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20. After New Zealand's loss to England in the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final via a Super Over, New Zealand coach Gary Stead suggested that the ICC should have considered awarding the championship jointly to both teams rather than using a tiebreaker.

International matches decided by a Super Over

Men's One Day International

DateVenueWinnerScoreLoserScoreODIRef
14 July 2019Lord's, London, England15/0†15/1World Cup Final
3 November 2020Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, Pakistan5/02/23rd
26 June 2023Takashinga Cricket Club, Harare, Zimbabwe30/08/2CWC Qualifier
9 March 2025Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek, Namibia7/03/2CWC League 2
21 May 2025Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, United States14/013/0CWC League 2
21 October 2025Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh10/19/12nd

† England won due to having more boundaries in the match.

Men's Twenty20 International

DateVenueWinnerScoreLoserScoreT20IRef
26 December 2008Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand25/115/21st
28 February 2010Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand9/06/12nd
7 September 2012Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates12/011/12nd
27 September 2012Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka13/17/1World T20
1 October 2012Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka18/017/0World T20
30 November 2015Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates4/03/13rd
22 January 2019Oman Cricket Academy Ground, Muscat, Oman6/05/1Western Region T20
19 March 2019Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa14/05/01st
31 May 2019College Field, Saint Peter Port, Guernsey15/014/11st
25 June 2019Hazelaarweg Stadion, Rotterdam, Netherlands18/09/12nd
5 July 2019West End Park International Cricket Stadium, Doha, Qatar14 runs12 runs2nd
10 November 2019Eden Park, Auckland,New Zealand17/08/15th
29 January 2020Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand20/017/03rd
31 January 2020Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand16/113/14th
10 March 2020Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, Greater Noida, India12/18/13rd
10 November 2021Coolidge Cricket Ground, Osbourn, Antigua and Barbuda22/114/0T20 World Cup Qualifier
13 February 2022Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia9/05/12nd
2 April 2023Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand 12/08/21st
17 January 2024M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India16/116/03rd
17 January 2024M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India11/21/23rd
2 June 2024Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados21/010/1T20 World Cup
6 June 2024Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, United States18/113/1T20 World Cup
30 July 2024Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele, Sri Lanka4/02/23rd
20 October 2024Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, United States3/02/22nd
14 March 2025Bayuemas Oval, Pandamaran, Malaysia1/00/2Malaysia Tri-Nation Series
16 June 2025Titwood, Glasgow, Scotland19/019/1Scotland Tri-Nation Series
16 June 2025Titwood, Glasgow, Scotland17/117/0Scotland Tri-Nation Series
16 June 2025Titwood, Glasgow, Scotland6/00/2Scotland Tri-Nation Series
23 July 2025West End Park International Cricket Stadium, Doha, Qatar17/014/05th
13 September 2025Malkerns Country Club Oval, Malkerns, Eswatini14/013/04th
26 September 2025Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, UAE3/02/2Asia Cup