When a limited-overs match ends level, many competitions break the tie with a Super Over: one over per side, six legal balls, two wickets. It is the shortest and most nerve-shredding format in cricket. This calculator tracks a Super Over chase: enter the first side's score and the chasing side's progress to see the target, runs needed, balls left, wickets in hand and whether the over has already been decided.
How to use the Super Over calculator
- Enter the runs and wickets of the team batting first in the Super Over.
- As the chase unfolds, enter the chasing team's runs, legal balls faced and wickets lost.
- The panel shows the situation ("7 needed off 2", "Chasing team wins", "Tied – another Super Over") with the target and resources left.
Super Over rules in ICC cricket
The full procedure is set out in the ICC playing conditions (Appendix F for men's T20Is). The key points:
- One over each. Each team faces one over of six legal balls. Wides and no-balls are re-bowled as normal.
- Two wickets end the innings. Each side nominates three batters, so the innings ends when the second wicket falls.
- Batting order. The team that batted second in the match bats first in the Super Over.
- Repeat if tied. If the Super Over is tied, further Super Overs are played until there is a winner. In each new Super Over the team that batted second in the previous one bats first.
- Player restrictions. A batter dismissed in an earlier Super Over cannot bat in the next one, and the bowler who bowled the previous Super Over cannot bowl the next one.
Leagues such as the IPL publish their own playing conditions, which follow the same broad structure.
The Super Over target
Target = First Super Over score + 1
The chasing team wins as soon as it passes the score. If it finishes level, under current ICC conditions another Super Over follows. With six balls, the largest possible score off the bat is 36, so the calculator warns you when the required runs exceed six per ball remaining.
Real match example
The 2019 World Cup final Super Over
- Match
- Both teams 241
- England Super Over
- 15/0
- New Zealand Super Over
- 15/1 – tied
- Decided by
- Boundary count (rule at the time) – England won
The result led the ICC to change its rules later in 2019: tied Super Overs in ICC events are now repeated until there is a winner, rather than decided by boundaries.
Load both stages of this Super Over with the example buttons. With today's rules, the calculator shows "Tied – another Super Over".
Real match example
Two Super Overs in one IPL game
- Match
- Tied
- First Super Over
- Tied
- Second Super Over
- Kings XI Punjab won
The first IPL match decided by a second Super Over, on a day when two IPL games went to Super Overs.
Super Over strategy
- Batting first: with only two wickets, teams usually send their two best hitters plus a finisher. 15 or more is generally a strong score.
- Bowling: captains choose their best death bowler, often relying on yorkers and wide yorkers to deny boundaries.
- Chasing: knowing the exact target allows a calm plan. "Eight off three" can be won with a boundary and two singles, or one six and a two.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the boundary count still decides ties. That rule was dropped in ICC events in 2019.
- Counting wides as balls. Only legal deliveries count towards the six.
- Forgetting the two-wicket limit. A side can be all out before the sixth ball.
Check the ICC Super Over procedure for the full wording, and use the target score calculator for the main match target.
