Football has the penalty shoot-out, the NFL (National Football League) has ‘sudden death’ rules and cricket has the Super Over. Undoubtedly one of the most exciting aspects of the sport, the Super Over is a tiebreaker that is used in limited-over games to determine a winner, if two teams are tied after their regular innings.

It’s reasonably rare for one to be required, which is why you might be wondering; what is a cricket Super Over? In a match, if both teams score the same amount of runs in their respective innings, then a Super Over is played to determine the winner.

Each team has the chance to play six balls and score as many runs as possible - the team which scores the most, wins. If the teams are still tied after the Super Over, then the winner is based on which team scored the most boundaries.

In the Super Over, each team can select three batsmen to play during the six balls. If a team is declared out at both ends of the wicket, their Super Over ends early. The tiebreaker was first introduced in 2008 for Twenty20 games and a few years later became the official method of deciding ties in international matches.

One of the most memorable - and important - Super Overs in cricket history came in 2019 when the format was required to decide the Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand.

England superstar Ben Stokes saved his team from defeat by batting 84 not out and dragging his country’s score to match the Kiwis’ 241-8 after 50 overs each. Stokes worked alongside Jos Buttler in the nail-biting Super Over, hitting 15 runs of the six balls.

New Zealand’s hopes soared after Jimmy Neesham smashed the second ball of their Super Over for six, however they struggled to follow up. On the final ball, they needed just two runs to prevail over England, but they could only manage one, once again tying the two teams.

So, England were declared winners after a boundary countback - they had scored a total of 26 compared to New Zealand’s 17. Pandemonium ensued at Lord’s as the England team celebrated their historic win.

The IPL (Indian Premier League) is known for its breathless excitement and entertainment, and both were on full display during a 2017 match between the Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions.

The Lions batted first and scored a solid 153 runs, with Ishan Kishan their standout batsmen on the day. The Mumbai Indians stepped up and turned in the exact same score after 20 overs, and so a Super Over was held.

Mumbai faced the ball first and lost both of their wickets, meaning they only scored 11 runs, opening the door for Gujarat to claim victory. Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah had other ideas, though.

He bowled an outstanding over, befuddling the Lions’ batsmen with yorkers and slow-balls, resulting in them only scoring six runs. It was a stunning turn of events and Bumrah has been a hero ever since.

A few years prior, in 2015, the Caribbean Premier League also produced an unforgettable Super Over when one was played between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel. 

With both teams tied at 118 runs after both innings, they entered into a Super Over with the Warriors batting first, posting a respectable but vulnerable 12 runs. However, the Trinidad batsmen were never even given a chance to beat that.

Unknown spinner Sunil Narine was selected to bowl for the Warriors, and with each ball that passed in the over, it was clear people were seeing something special. Narine became the first ever player to bowl six dot balls in a Super Over, meaning Trinidad didn’t score any runs and lost the game.

In 2012, Australia and Pakistan faced each other in Dubai and, after their respective innings, were tied at 152 runs each. In the subsequent Super Over, Australia scored 12 runs for Pakistan to beat.

After five balls, Pakistan needed just one run to win the match. On the final ball, batsmen Umar Akmal took a risk and slotted the ball down the off-side and tried to sneak in a run - his gambit paid off as he just made it across the crease, granting his country victory.

Swinging focus back to the IPL, few fans of the league can forget the incredible 2010 match between CSK and KXIP. CSK were one run away from victory on the final ball of the regular innings, and so had to go into a Super Over.

Ultimately, KXIP triumphed over those last six balls, largely thanks to a heroic sixer from Suresh Raina, which helped his side beat the 10 runs posted by CSK. 

The Super Over is one of the most tense parts of cricket and has produced some marvellous moments over the years - there’s no doubt there are more to come, as well.