Cricket matches often don’t end in a tie. And even when they do, we get a winner after the Super Over. But what if the Super Over also gets tied?
Something similar happened in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. The league stage match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) ended in a tie.
As usual, the Super Over followed, which also finished in a tie. So, another Super Over followed.
One more Super Over? Yes, and it finally gave us the winner!
So, who won the second Super Over?
Well, let’s dig into the double Super Over played between MI and KXIP in IPL 2020.
A Tie Before Another Tie
Coming into this match, MI and KXIP had featured in tied matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Delhi Capitals (DC), respectively, earlier in the season.
Interestingly, MI and KXIP had lost in the Super Over. And here they were set for another tied match.
Mumbai were on a five-match win streak, while Punjab had their second win of the season in their previous game. Another win here would’ve taken MI closer to the playoff spot. But, but, but… Punjab had other plans.
After electing to bat first, MI found themselves in deep trouble. They were 38 for 3 at 5.1 overs. Arshdeep Singh struck twice, getting rid of captain Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. In between, Suryakumar Yadav fell for a duck against Mohammed Shami.
Then Quinton de Kock and Krunal Pandya steadied MI’s ship. Composed knocks from the two left-handers saw Mumbai cross 100.
But Krunal (34) and de Kock (53) returned to the dugout at a crucial time. Hardik Pandya too followed them without adding much to the scoreboard.
So, all focus was on Kieron Pollard. The Caribbean hitter lived up to the expectations and provided the much-needed strong finish. He hammered 34 off 12, including a four and 4 sixes.
And Pollard wasn’t alone. Nathan Coulter-Nile also chipped in with 24 runs off 12 balls. That took MI from 119 for 6 to 176 for 6!
Now, onto Punjab’s innings. They were solid in their chase till 17.2 overs. Captain KL Rahul was leading from the front and looked almost set to take KXIP home.
But then the match flipped!
Jasprit Bumrah’s speedy yorker rattled Rahul’s off stump. That beauty of a delivery brought MI back into the game.
Deepak Hooda and Chris Jordan somehow kept Punjab’s hopes alive, with nine needed off six balls. The equation came down to two off one, with Jordan on the crease.
Trent Boult sent down a yorker, which Jordan dug out to mid-on and set off for two runs. The first run came easily. But the second?
Instead of turning back and running straight for the second run, Jordan took a long detour, meaning he fell short and was run out. The result? The scores were level – 176/6 vs 176/6.
That brought the first Super Over of the match into the equation.
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The First Super Over
Since Punjab batted second, they took the strike first in the first Super Over. Their batters? Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, and Hooda.
Their Super Over read: 1, W, 1, 1, 2, W. Bumrah didn’t let Punjab batters hit high and long with his yorkers and low full tosses.
MI were out to chase six runs with de Kock and Rohit Sharma. Shami nailed yorkers after yorkers for KXIP to deny MI a win.
MI’s Super Over went like this: 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1+Run Out.
With scores level (again!), we had another Super Over dash.
The Second Super Over
MI opened the second Super Over. They started with Pollard and Hardik this time, while Jordan bowled for Punjab.
Mumbai managed 11 runs, with eight coming off Pollard’s bat, one from Hardik, and two wides. (MI’s Super Over: 1, Wide, 1, 4, Wide, 1+Run Out, 0, 2)
Out came Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal for Punjab, ready to face Boult. Gayle sent the first ball for a cracking six – just the perfect start they needed.
The Universe Boss took a single, bringing Agarwal on strike. And what did he do? Agarwal closed out the Super Over with two consecutive fours!
And finally, we had our winner – Kings XI Punjab – after 23.4 overs of dramatic action in Dubai.
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