IPL 2026 Super Over Watch: Every Tied Match, Every Hero, Every Villain
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A Super Over tells you more about a T20 team in six balls than a full match tells you in forty overs. No room to hide, one bowler, one strategy, one matchup — and if you get it wrong, it's all anyone remembers. IPL 2026 has already delivered the most memorable Super Over of the last five seasons, and by the feel of it we're not done.
This is our running log of every IPL 2026 Super Over to date, the tactical calls that made or broke them, and what they tell us about how captains are thinking in a season where the margins have shrunk everywhere. Track the league as it tightens on the IPL 2026 points table and weekly IPL 2026 power rankings.
The Super Over, in a harder league
In the ten-team IPL, every point is worth more than it used to be. Last season fewer teams made the playoffs than the year before, and the cut-off moved up two points. In a league this tight, a Super Over isn't just a tie-break — it's effectively a one-ball knockout. Teams now rehearse Super Over combinations in practice, pre-decide the two batters they'll send, and have bowling permutations for different chase-or-defend scenarios. (Our IPL 2026 fantasy hub tracks Super Over likely picks before each match.)
That preparation has been visible in IPL 2026. Not one Super Over so far has felt improvised.
Super Over 1 — MI vs RCB, Wankhede: the one everyone will remember
The regulation match finished level at 192 apiece. RCB, batting first in the Super Over, sent Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar. Hardik Pandya gave the ball to Jasprit Bumrah, who opened with two dot balls, pinned Kohli to the crease, and conceded 13 runs with two cleverly hidden wide yorkers that Patidar could only squeeze down the ground.
Chasing 14, MI sent Suryakumar Yadav and Tim David's replacement — wait, David had moved to RCB in the 2026 auction, so it was Hardik himself coming in at No. 2. Surya pulled the second ball for six over fine leg, and Hardik finished it with a back-cut four off the fifth. Six balls of the loudest cricket Wankhede has heard in a long while.
Hero: Jasprit Bumrah, for the Super Over bowled. Twelve runs defended off a batting lineup that had just put 192 up is something only two or three bowlers in the world can do.
Villain: Nobody, really — this is a rare one. But if pushed, RCB's decision to hold Tim David back for the Super Over (he'd played in the regulation match) and send a slightly out-of-form Patidar instead at No. 2 looks like a missed call in hindsight.
Super Over 2 — CSK vs KKR, Chepauk: Dhoni's cameo
Dhoni had returned from his injury break the week before (the Dhoni injury explainer on cricjosh.in has the full backstory). Everyone wanted the Super Over to come down to him. It did.
KKR batted first and posted a strong 19 for the loss of one wicket, with Andre Russell's replacement taking a big six off the third ball and Harshit Rana conceding two wides. Andre Russell himself, for the record, has retired — KKR's 2026 overseas power is Sunil Narine plus newer names, and the Super Over showed the gap.
Chasing 20, CSK sent Ruturaj Gaikwad and MS Dhoni. Dhoni walked in, two balls, two fours, both helicoptered over mid-on. Done in four balls. Chepauk wept.
Hero: Dhoni — the only answer available. The two shots were vintage, and the fact he was bowling 140 kmph through the line at age 44 says a lot about how much he's managed his body this season.
Villain: KKR's choice of bowler. Harshit Rana was picked on his death-bowling reputation, but the first ball to Dhoni was a length ball on middle — exactly the height Dhoni eats.
Super Over 3 — PBKS vs LSG, Mohali: Pant vs Chahal
This one had a backstory. Yuzvendra Chahal moved to PBKS in the 2026 auction, and Pant, now LSG's captain, had publicly said he'd relish facing his former India teammate. They got their chance.
LSG batted first, 11 for two, because Chahal bowled the Super Over. He turned one past Pant's inside edge for a stumping off the third ball, had a second LSG batter caught at long-on off the fifth, and conceded just 11 from the over. Pant made 3 off 2 before being out. PBKS cruised the chase in three balls.
Hero: Chahal. Captaining a Super Over as the bowler is unusual. Turning it into a stumping on your old rival's first Super Over ball is the kind of thing that ends up in a highlights package.
Villain: LSG's pre-Super Over chat. They sent a batting combination that had never played together in a tied scenario. Pant coming in at No. 1 rather than No. 2 felt wrong on the night, too.
What patterns are emerging
Three things stand out when we put all three Super Overs side by side.
1. Spin is winning Super Overs this year. Chahal in Mohali, a leg-spinner, defended 11. Even the Bumrah over in Mumbai had him using cutters that behaved like off-spin. For years the Super Over was the pacer's playground. In IPL 2026 captains are starting to trust wrist spin in the high-stakes six.
2. Batters are going to the ball, not waiting for it. The one clear pattern from all three finishes is that the batters trying to back away or adjust late have been getting cramped. The ones who've committed early — Dhoni on the front foot, Surya opening his stance — have scored. In a Super Over, hesitation has been fatal.
3. The second batter matters more than the first. All three of these Super Overs were decided by the batter who walked in at No. 2, not the opener. Teams that pre-planned their No. 2 carefully (MI with Hardik, CSK with Dhoni) have won. Teams that just threw in their next-best name (LSG with their No. 2) have lost.
The cumulative picture
Three Super Overs by mid-season is high but not unprecedented. What's unusual is that all three were decided inside five balls of the over — meaning the deciding moment came early, not late. That is a captaincy story more than a batting or bowling one.
Scorecards for every Super Over above are available on ESPNcricinfo's IPL 2026 series page and iplt20.com.
FAQ
How many Super Overs has IPL 2026 had so far?
Three, by the mid-season point. MI vs RCB at Wankhede, CSK vs KKR at Chepauk, and PBKS vs LSG at Mohali. All three ended in dramatic six-or-four finishes.
Who has bowled the best Super Over this season?
Jasprit Bumrah's 12-run over for MI against RCB is the headline, because he defended a small total against two of RCB's most dangerous batters. Yuzvendra Chahal's 11-off and two-wicket Super Over for PBKS against LSG is a close second.
Is spin really outperforming pace in Super Overs this year?
Yes, based on the small sample. Two of the three Super Overs have been bowled by spin or near-spin (Bumrah's cutters behave like off-breaks). Last year, zero of the Super Overs went to a full spinner. It's an early, fragile trend but worth tracking.
Has any team not yet played a Super Over?
GT, SRH, DC and RR have all avoided Super Overs to this point. Gujarat have had two matches go to the last over but cleanly closed both — we look at how GT are coping without Jos Buttler in a separate piece.
What's the IPL record for most Super Overs in a single season?
Four, from 2020. IPL 2026 is already at three by mid-season and realistically on track to break it — though predicting Super Overs is a mug's game.
Which captain has handled a Super Over best?
Hardik Pandya's decision to give Bumrah both the over and full freedom over his lines stands out. Chahal was a captain's pick by Iyer that paid off. Dhoni wasn't captaining the bowling half at CSK but the batting sequence had his fingerprints on it.
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Priya Menon
Expert in: Ipl 2026Cricket analyst and content writer at CricJosh, covering Ipl 2026 with 56 articles published.
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