Praveen KumarA Super Over is a one-over shoot-out that decides a tied limited-overs match. Each team gets six balls, and the team with more runs wins. Under the ICC's current T20 international rules, a tied Super Over is followed by another one, and that repeats until there is a winner.
This guide explains the rules as written in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Playing Conditions (clause 16.3 and Appendix F). Leagues and domestic competitions publish their own playing conditions, so check the rules of the competition you are following.
When is a Super Over played?
A match is a tie when both innings are complete and the scores are level. In ICC men's T20Is a tie goes straight to a Super Over. A tie on the DLS par score also counts: if a rain-reduced chase finishes one run short of its revised target, the scores are level and the match is a tie (see our DLS method guide).
A match with no result is different. If not enough overs are possible to finish the match, there is no Super Over.
The basic rules
| Rule | What the ICC playing conditions say |
|---|---|
| Length | Each team faces one over of six balls |
| Wickets | Losing two wickets ends that team's over, so at most three batters can bat |
| Winner | The team with more runs. Wickets lost do not matter |
| Who bats first | The team that batted second in the match |
| When it starts | Normally 5 minutes after the match ends, with 5 minutes between the two overs |
| Ball | The fielding captain picks a ball from the umpires' box of used match balls. No new balls |
| End | The fielding side chooses which end to bowl from |
| Field | The fielding restrictions for the last over of an uninterrupted match apply |
| Reviews (DRS) | One unsuccessful review per team per Super Over, however many reviews were used in the match |
| Players | Only the players nominated for the match, including concussion replacements |
Wides, no-balls and other extras count in a Super Over in the normal way. A wide adds a run and the ball has to be bowled again.
What happens if the Super Over is tied?
Another Super Over is played, and this repeats until one team scores more runs. Each new Super Over changes a few things:
- Batting order flips. The team that batted second in the previous Super Over bats first in the next one.
- Dismissed batters are out for good. A batter dismissed in any earlier Super Over cannot bat in a later one. A batter who was not out can bat again.
- No bowler bowls twice in a row. Anyone who bowled the previous Super Over cannot bowl the next one.
- Ends switch. Each side bowls from the opposite end to the one it used last time, with the same ball it chose before.
When a Super Over cannot be finished
Super Overs get extra time: whichever is longer of 20 minutes or the time left until the match's latest scheduled finish. If bad weather or another delay uses that time up, the Super Overs are abandoned and the match is declared a tie.
The ICC match referee can also limit the number of Super Overs when time is fixed, for example if floodlights must be switched off by a set time. The referee must tell both captains before the first Super Over starts.
A real example: South Africa v Afghanistan, 2026
South Africa's T20 World Cup group match against Afghanistan in February 2026 was the first T20 World Cup match that needed two Super Overs, Wisden reported. It showed most of the rules in action:
- First Super Over. Afghanistan batted first, having batted second in the match. Lungi Ngidi held them to 17. South Africa matched it with Tristan Stubbs and David Miller at the crease, after Dewald Brevis had been dismissed by Fazalhaq Farooqi, so the Super Over was tied.
- Second Super Over. South Africa now batted first, because they had batted second in the first Super Over. Brevis could not bat again, but Stubbs and Miller could, because neither had been dismissed. South Africa set Afghanistan 24.
- New bowler. Ngidi could not bowl again, so Keshav Maharaj bowled. Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit three sixes in a row, and Afghanistan needed five off the last ball. A four would have forced a third Super Over. They fell short, and South Africa won.
Why boundary count no longer decides
The 2019 men's World Cup final between England and New Zealand ended level, and so did its Super Over. England won the title on the number of boundaries they had hit. After that final the ICC dropped boundary count and moved to repeating the Super Over (cricket.com.au, October 2019). The current playing conditions allow an unlimited number of Super Overs, except in the time-limited cases above.
How FairPlay shows Super Over results
FairPlay's match pages show the official result from the scorecard data. A match decided in a Super Over is a win for the team that won it. In Free Play, a pick on that match is settled on the official winner in the normal way. If a match finishes as an official tie with no Super Over winner, a match-winner pick is settled as "no winner".
Sources
ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Playing Conditions, clause 16.3 and Appendix F (Super Over Procedure); ICC: Playing Conditions; Wisden: Why Stubbs could bat twice but Ngidi could only bowl once; cricket.com.au: Super Over rule change after World Cup drama
This article was written by the FairPlay Editorial Desk with AI assistance, using the sources listed above. It is reviewed by a FairPlay editor before publication. To report an error, see our Editorial Policy.