IPL 2020: The impact moments from a Super Over Sunday
There was drama, chaos and in the words of Ian Smith (who said it on commentary during the 2019 World Cup final), “You cannot write a script like this… You cannot write a script like this.”
Four teams, two matches and three Super Overs! IPL 2020 has been a beast! It just doesn’t get any bigger and better than this. It was cricket at it’s absolute best and at its peak.
Ties and Super Overs in T20 cricket aren’t frequent and getting a couple of them in a season is huge. The Indian Premier League (IPL) itself had nine in total before the start of this 2020 season and two were the most in a season (which happened in 2013 and 2019).
And here we are, five Super Overs in total in this season. Two Super Overs in a game and three in one day (across two games)!
First, it was Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take their game into a Super Over. And then, it was the turn of Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in a game which seemed never-ending. Tie -> Super Over -> Tie in that Super Over -> Another Super Over!
In such games where there is so much action and drama, we tend to forget some small moments. These are the key moments that don’t look big but make all the difference. And there were a few across the two games we witness on October 18th, 2020 which could well be termed as the day of Super Overs. Here are the moments that had a huge impact across both games (in no particular order).
MUMBAI INDIANS vs KINGS XI PUNJAB
Mayank Agarwal saving four on the last ball of the second Super Over
It was the last ball of the second Super Over. Kieron Pollard was on strike. Chris Jordan bowled a low full-toss and Pollard hoicked it towards deep mid-wicket. Mayank Agarwal leapt in the air caught the ball and threw it back in and all of this in one motion. Agarwal was in mid-air when he threw the ball back into play. MI got just two off the final ball and finished on 11 at the end of the second Super Over. Chris Gayle hit a six before Agarwal wiped out the chase with a couple of boundaries.
Was this THE turning point of all turning points?
: @IPL #MayankAgarwal #MIvKXIP #IPL2020 pic.twitter.com/9xqJ8wrkW2
— SportsAdda (@sportsadda_) October 18, 2020
Chris Jordan’s long run
With nine runs in the bank for the final over, Boult conceded seven from the first five balls. He was hitting the yorkers well. On the last ball, Chris Jordan was on strike and Boult nailed the yorker again. Jordan drilled it to long-on and took off. However, unusually, instead of running back and forth for two in a straight line, the England fast bowler decided to go for a full round at the non-striker’s end which meant he ran a couple of yards extra and eventually, fell a couple of inches short as Pollard fired the throw in from long-on.
Nathan Coulter-Nile’s drop but acrobatic save in the final over of KXIP’s chase
With nine needed from the final over, KXIP were favourites to get through. But they had bottled up similar run-chases before. They had Deepak Hooda and Chris Jordan at the crease. It was Boult who was bowling the final over for MI and Hooda (batting on 21 off 13) was on strike. The Kiwi left-arm pacer went for the yorker and missed marginally and Hooda whipped it. Nathan Coulter-Nile was inside the 30-yard circle behind square on the leg-side. He flew to his right to take the catch but couldn’t. However, he saved the boundary and it was just one (effectively saved three runs).
Rahul Chahar’s game-changing drop?
When KL Rahul was dismissed for KXIP, it looked increasingly difficult for them. Hooda was batting well but he needed some support and Jordan joined him and did well. 22 were required off the last two overs and it was Coulter-Nile who bowled it for MI. Hooda pinched two off the first ball and struck a vital boundary off the next to bring it down to 16 off 10. On the third ball of the 19th over, Coulter-Nile bowled it short delivery down the leg-side and it was there for Hooda to put it away. However, he couldn’t and hit it straight to short fine-leg where Rahul Chahar dropped a relatively easy catch and gave Hooda a life.
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD vs KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
KKR using a half-fit limping Andre Russell in the final over
SRH needed 18 from the final over and David Warner was the key for them was well set. Andre Russell who limped off the field in the 15th over with holding onto his hamstring was asked to bowl that over. KKR had the option of Kuldeep Yadav and even Nitish Rana. Yes, it’s a risk bowling a spinner in the final over of a tight run chase but it was worth a go with the long boundaries in Abu Dhabi. Russell was barely able to even limp through to the crease. The West Indian hobbled into his five-step run-up in the final over. Warner smashed three fours to bring SRH back into the contest and Russell did comeback well and bowled well on the last two deliveries to force a Super Over.
The Ferguson-Gill relay catch
Image Courtesy: iplt20.com
In the madness of the Super Over and Russell’s final over, there might be a tendency to forget the brilliance of Lockie Ferguson and Shubman Gill. The 19th over was bowled by Shivam Mavi and had already gone for 12 runs in five balls. The last ball was a crucial delivery and Mavi bowled a low full toss. Abdul Samad (batting on 23 off 14) got a decent piece of it but Ferguson at deep mid-wicket ran across and took a good pressure catch and before he overbalanced, he tossed it up to Shubman Gill who completed the catch to dismiss the dangerous Samad.
Russell drops Samad in the 18th over
Samad walked into bat in the 16th over and SRH still needed 55 runs off 28 balls. He was striking with it well and strung in a good partnership with skipper Warner. He was the one who found the boundaries in the 16th and 17th over. Ferguson (who had already taken three wickets) returned for his final over and bowled the 18th of the chase.
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He conceded just three runs off the first two balls before creating another chance on the fourth ball of the over. Samad slashed one to point where an injured Russell was fielding and the big man from West Indies shelled it to revive Samad.