ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A BETWAY SA20 SUPER OVER

Wow, how incredible was last night at Wanderers as Joburg Super Kings and Durban’s Super Giants delivered Betway SA20’s first tied match … and as a result its first Super Over!

Fans, pundits and players alike had to be patient, waiting 110 matches, but New Year’s Day 2026 will go down in the history books.

Following a pulsating match which ebbed and flowed from Faf du Plessis and Matthew de Villiers’ 89-run opening stand, through Noor Ahmad’s two quick-fire wickets, Shubham Ranjane’s maiden SA20 50 and Donovan Ferreira’s late innings onslaught to leave Durban’s Super Giants a target of 206 to win.

Then Super Giants themselves made steady if unspectacular progress until Evan Jones kick-started their run chase with a 17-ball 43 that seemed to put DSG in the ascendancy until he was run out and Donovan Ferreira executed another fantastic run out from behind the stumps off the last ball to leave the scores tied on 205… prompting a Super Over.

But what is a Super Over and how does it play out?

According to the Betway SA20 Playing Conditions: “A Super Over is a procedure that may be adopted for determining the result of a tied match, as set out in Appendix F.” Essentially, it’s a two over (one for each team) match decider if the teams’ scores are equal after both innings have been completed – wickets lost do not play a role.

The Appendix F mentioned in the definition determines how the Super Over will play out. For absolutely clarity, it reads as follows:

1. A Super Over involves each team facing an over of six balls (unless ended earlier as provided for in paragraph 2 below), and the winner shall be the team scoring the greater number of runs, irrespective of the number of wickets lost.

2. The loss of two wickets shall end the batting team’s one over innings.

3. If the Super Over is a tie, subsequent Super Overs shall be played until a winner is determined. Other than in exceptional circumstances (as set out in paragraph 25 below), an unlimited number of Super Overs may be played where necessary to determine a result.

4. Subject to weather conditions, the Super Over shall take place on the scheduled day of the match at a time to be determined by the Betway SA20 Match Referee. In normal circumstances it shall commence 5 minutes after the conclusion of the match.

5. The Super Over shall be played until completion, but if there are any delays or interruptions during the Super Over, extra time (taken from the start of the first Super Over) is allocated to complete the Super Over or any subsequent Super Overs. The amount of extra time allocated to the Super Over is the greater of;

   a) the gap between the time at which the match ended and the time the original match would have been scheduled to finish had the entire extra time provision been utilised, or

   b) 20 minutes.

6. Should play be delayed prior to or during the Super Over(s) once the playing time lost exceeds the extra time allocated, the Super Over(s) shall be abandoned (see paragraph 24 below).

7. The Super Over shall take place on the pitch allocated for the match, unless otherwise determined by the umpires in consultation with the Ground Authority and the Betway SA20 Match Referee.

8. Only nominated players in the match (including Concussion Replacements) may participate in the Super Over.

9. Any penalty time being served in the match shall be carried forward to the Super Over.

10. The umpires shall stand at the same end at which they finished the match.

11. The team batting second in the match shall bat first in the Super Over – at Wanderers, that was Durban’s Super Giants who selected Jos Buttler, Evan Jones and Heinrich Klaasen as their three nominated batters.

12. Each Team shall be allowed one unsuccessful player review per innings per Super Over. This entitlement shall apply irrespective of the number of unsuccessful Player Review requests made during the match itself.

13. The captain of the fielding team (or his nominee) shall select the ball with which the fielding team shall bowl its over in the Super Over from the box of spare balls provided by the umpires (which shall include the balls used in the match, but no new balls). The team fielding second may then choose to use the same ball as chosen by the team bowling first or choose another ball from the same box. If the ball needs to be changed, the relevant Playing Conditions as they apply in the match shall also apply in the Super Over.

14. The fielding side shall choose the end from which it is to bowl its one over. (Faf du Plessis picked the Corlett Drive End for Richard Gleeson to bowl from – wary of the shorter boundaries on the west side of ground.)

15. The Super Over shall be played with the same fielding restrictions as would be applicable for the last over in an uninterrupted match.

16. The interval between the two overs in the Super Over shall be 5 minutes.

While it didn’t happen at the Wanderers, as JSK comfortably scored the required six runs to win, it should be noted that if the Super Over is tied, subsequent Super Overs will largely follow the same procedure as the first apart from the following key points.

• The fielding side shall bowl its over in a subsequent Super Over from the opposite
• end from which it bowled in the previous Super Over.
• Any batter dismissed in any previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bat in any subsequent Super Over.
• Any bowler who bowled in the previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bowl in the subsequent Super Over.

Coming back to the aforementioned Paragraph 25, related to the Super Over needing to be abandoned, it reads: “Where the Super Over or subsequent Super Overs are abandoned for any reason prior to completion then the match shall be declared a tie and each team allocated three (3) points.

Now you know all you need to know should we have more tied matches during Season 4, even if it’s during the Playoffs where the winner of a Super Over would advance to the next match.

VIDEO: Rewatch the drama of Betway SA20’s first-ever Super Over.