There have been 13 games with Super Overs in the 13 editions of the IPL so far. Four of them have taken place in the 2020 edition. And two of those four on Sunday, the last of them even gave us a Double Super Over. This is a reminder of the ten key moments that shaped Super (Overs) Sunday at the IPL, making it such a heady viewing experience.
Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab, Dubai
Bumrah nails Rahul with a yorker – 17.3 overs
This was the ball that paved the way for the Mumbai Indians. It was the 18th over. Jasprit Bumrah had taken 15 hits in his previous over. KL Rahul was in ’75 and was in command. The Kings XI needed just 27 of the last three overs. After the third ball, Bumrah swerved out of the box and hit the perfect yorker with a reverse swing bunt. Rahul moved in line to cover the stump, but the 92 mph ball drifted past the outer edge of the closed bat face to hit the stump.
Coulter-Nile denies limits to Hooda – 19.1 overs
The Kings XI now needed just nine runs from the last six balls, and Trent Boult lined up to pitch. Deepak Hooda quickly moved off his stump to choose a longer delivery that was at an angle. Hooda thought that he had thrown firmly as the ball flew on a square leg for a certain limit. Except it didn’t: Nathan Coulter-Nile threw himself the wrong way (left) to stop him, even trying to pry the latch off with an inverted cup. Had Hooda been successful, the target would have been reduced to five out of five. But Coulter-Nile kept the Mumbai Indians in contention.
Jordan takes tortuous route – 19.6 overs
The Kings XI only needed two runs from the final installment to win. Approaching the stumps, Boult delivered a yorker to Chris Jordan’s feet. Jordan did well to push the ball into the empty area in the middle and immediately called for two, even as Kieron Pollard, who was in the limit at length, charged. And Jordan, instead of running straight after completing the first race, decided to take a long route back, giving Quinton de Kock plenty of time to take a powerful pitch from Pollard and remove the bails. A straight run, and Jordan should have done it. The match was a draw. It was the second Super Over on Sunday, the first time the IPL had experienced two on the same day.
Shami’s own Super Over – Super Over 1
De Kock and Rohit Sharma only needed five runs. Mohammed Shami ran for the first ball, strayed out of the crease and threw the perfect yorker off the stump that de Kock could only push off with a single. Having seen Bumrah triumph with the yorker and low-shot work at the Mumbai Super Over, Shami’s goal, as Rahul revealed after the match, was to shoot six yorkers. He threw five of them to perfection … It was one of the best overs in fast bowling, done with a smile and without any apparent display of nervousness.
Rahul runs out of Kock – final ball, Super Over 1
It was down to two to win the final ball for the Mumbai Indians, with De Kock taking on Shami. He hit the wide yorker, and De Kock did well to place it to the right of short coverage where Ravi Bishnoi dived but was unable to intercept the ball, allowing the batters to fall back for the second. Nicholas Pooran charged from deep, but his launch missed the stumps. But in a moment of brilliance, Rahul, who excelled on the field in the Orange Cap (for most races at this IPL), moved in front of the stumps, bent over his right knee to pick up the shot out of the way. Aim and then threw the ball back to the stumps at the last moment to beat De Kock’s dive. A Super Over Part II.
Agarwal denies Pollard 6 – Super Over 2
Jordan had done very well allowing just nine runs from his first five balls to Pollard and Hardik Pandya’s pairing. Pollard was on strike for the final installment, which turned out to be a low full pitch. Pollard, ready deep in his crease, threw the ball powerfully into the middle of the field, where Mayank Agarwal was stationed. When it looked like the ball was going to pass over him, Agarwal used all his core strength to jump hard and somehow, amazingly, managed to connect with the ball in the air and stop it back onto the field of play. “Great,” Simon Doull, the commentator, exploded into the air, an apt description of Agarwal’s field. It meant Pollard and Mumbai got just two runs instead of six and the target was 12.
Gayle Goes Crazy – Super Over 2
Chris Gayle wasted no time. Boult’s first ball was a low, full pitch, in the groove, and Gayle cut it over the deep half for a big six. The pressure was gone immediately and Agarwal finished the job with two defined limits to end a long but memorable Sunday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Abu Dhabi
Hobbling Russell takes the match to Super Over – 19.6 overs
If the night was impressive, the night had arranged things very well. Andre Russell has been hurting this IPL, both physically and with his struggles on the field, especially with the bat. On Sunday, Russell fell back to the ground with the bat, injured his hamstring on the field, but was sent back to pitch the end of the game. The Hyderabad Sunrisers needed 18 runs. Their captain David Warner was on the fold with young Abdul Samad. Russell’s first ball was a free throw. Warner then broke three consecutive limits to reduce the equation to two runs from the final ball. Russell raced to launch a 82 mph delivery to Warner platforms. Warner tried to hit with one leg, but got up and only said goodbye to one leg. Mumbai had just started hitting in Dubai when the match in Abu Dhabi entered the Super Over.
Ferguson-Gill combo denies Samad a six – 18.6 overs
This was the last envelope from the previous one. Samad had played a brilliant cameo, picking 23 of 14 balls. Shivam Mavi’s last was a low, full easy pitch that Samad hit flat into the middle of deep field. Lockie Ferguson, square leg deep, ran to the left, turned sideways to safely pocket the catch with two hands just inches within the boundary line. But with momentum threatening to throw him off balance, Ferguson noted that Shubman Gill was close enough, so he carefully tossed the ball to his teammate, who completed the catch even as the New Zealander crossed the border line.
Ferguson shakes up the sunrises with three-ball trick
Ferguson, who looked like an Ultimate Fighting Championship contestant, knocked out the Sunrisers in just three installments in the Super Over. First, he pitched a long delivery in the high 140s to knock down Warner’s stump, and two deliveries, and two runs later, he pitched Samad with a brilliant change of pace. The Knight Riders’ goal was just three races.
.
