New Zealand and Sri Lanka competed in the T20 World Cup’s first Super Overs match. They met in Kandy during the 2012 edition’s group stage.
Ahmedabad, 11th February: The T20 World Cup saw its first-ever double Super Over during the thrilling encounter between South Africa and Afghanistan on Wednesday (February 11) in Ahmedabad.
After a nerve-wracking contest, the Proteas somehow managed to keep their cool and pulled off an amazing victory in a match which would have kept everyone on the edge of their seats. It was the kind of game that has sparked up the group stages in T20 World Cup 2026. Afghanistan fought fiercely, first to rejoin the match, and then in the Super Overs. But it was a disappointing loss for Rashid Khan and his men.
The T20 World Cup has some interesting matches in the past and also this season. As fans observed their first, not once but two Super Overs of this edition, here is a trip down memory lane as we look at 5 such games in the history of the league.
5. Namibia vs Oman, 2024
Namibia and Oman engaged in a thrilling encounter that spilled over into the Super Over during their Group B match of the T20 World Cup 2024 at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. Oman set a modest target of 109 while batting first. Namibia required five runs off the last over but could not reach the target.
David Wiese and Gerhard Erasmus went hell for leather in the Super Over adding 21 runs. Wiese was impressive with the ball to, conceding just 10 runs as Namibia earned a comprehensive win in the end. Oman did well to push the game into a Super Over, but there was too much for them to do at the end in order to win the contest.
4. New Zealand versus Sri Lanka 2012
New Zealand and Sri Lanka competed in the T20 World Cup’s first Super Overs match. They met in Kandy during the 2012 edition’s group stage.
New Zealand and Sri Lanka competes the first-ever Super Over in the T20 World Cup. They last met in the competition during the 2012 in Kandy, a group-stage encounter.
The Kiwis, batting first, made 174/7. But they could not defend the target as Sri Lanka also reached 174/6. The game went to the Super Over, in which Lankans batted first and made 13 without striking a single boundary. Lasith Malinga then showed nerves of steel as he gave away just runs and got a wicket to gift the hosts an incredible win.
3. New Zealand vs The West Indies, 2012
New Zealand were in another Super Over against at the T20 World Cup 2012. This time, it was the West Indies in Pallekele. The New Zealanders bowled well to dismiss the West Indians for 139. But they did not complete the game and were restricted to 139/7.
In the Super Over, they put themselves in front, reaching 17 with a four and a six from Ross Taylor. Although it was one of New Zealand’s highest T20 scores at the time, the West Indies batters Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels had chased down the required runs in just five balls, a six each off Tim Southee.
2. USA vs Pakistan, 2024
Also coming to the top of the most exciting Super Overs in T20 World Cup history is the encounter between the USA and Pakistan during 2024. It was a Group A match in Dallas, the one in which the USA scored the mother of all upsets.
Opting to bat first, Pakistan came up with a respectable total of 159/7. In response, the USA showed some fight as they managed to equal the total in 159/3 and took the match to Super Over. Harmeet Singh and Aaron Jones scored 18 runs off Mohammad Amir in the Super Over. It was left for skipper Saurabh Netravalkar to bowl tight in the end, and with Pakistan divided between playing shots at him (Sindhu) disallowing a lot of playing area outside the off-stump, there were simply not enough boundaries as Weston led USA to a famous five-run triumph in Abu Dhabi.
1. South Africa vs Afghanistan, 2026
South Africa and Afghanistan competed one of the tournament’s tightest garden fences, in a T20 World Cup for sure but probably also all formats ever. The Proteas had set a daunting target of 187/6. Afghanistan, who had the game, messed up under pressure and couldn’t get 2 runs from two balls due to which they got bowled out at a score of 187.
Azmatullah Omarzai swung them to 17 in the first Super Over. But Fazalhaq Farooqi could not defend the total as Tristan Stubbs clobbered him for a four and six. The tension continued when the game went to a record second Super Over.
The Proteas accumulated 23 runs this time with Stubbs and David Miller at the crease. Afghanistan battled hard, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz hitting three sixes, but it was not enough as they were pinned down at 19 runs to suffer a narrow defeat.
