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August 14, 2024
According to ICC’s playing conditions, all One Day Internationals (ODIs) that end in a tie should feature a Super Over, provided time and conditions allow. However, during the recent tied first ODI between Sri Lanka and India, the match officials—on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Raveendra Wimalasiri, match referee Ranjan Madugalle, TV umpire Paul Reiffel, and fourth umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge—mistakenly did not implement a Super Over, as required.
The officials later acknowledged their error, admitting they had misinterpreted the playing conditions, which clearly state that a Super Over must be played in case of a tie. Initially, there needed to be more clarity about whether the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) allowed for a Super Over. It was eventually clarified that the MoU did permit a Super Over, and future tied ODIs should indeed follow this rule, time and conditions permitting.
At the end of the tied match, the umpires signaled the conclusion without initiating a Super Over, and neither team questioned this decision, with players immediately shaking hands. However, the absence of a Super Over quickly sparked discussions on social media. The ICC’s latest ODI playing conditions, released in December 2023, state that a Super Over is mandatory if scores are level after both innings. Suppose the Super Over also ends in a tie. In that case, additional Super Overs should be played until a winner is determined unless exceptional circumstances prevent this.
Although the officials did not immediately explain why the Super Over wasn’t played, they later agreed to implement it in case of another tie in the remaining two ODIs of the series, which Sri Lanka eventually won 2-0. In the tied match, India needed just five runs from the final three overs with two wickets in hand to chase down a target of 231. Shivam Dube hit a boundary, but India then lost two consecutive wickets in the 48th over, bowled by Sri Lanka’s newly appointed captain, Charith Asalanka, resulting in the tie.
The BCCI has made adjustments to India’s home season schedule, resulting in venue changes for two upcoming T20Is. The first T20I against Bangladesh, initially scheduled for October 6 in Dharamsala, has been relocated to Gwalior. Additionally, the venues for the first and second T20Is against England in January 2025 have been swapped; these matches will now be held in Kolkata and Chennai, respectively.
The decision to move the Bangladesh T20I from Dharamsala to Gwalior was due to “upgrades and renovation work” in the dressing rooms at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, according to a BCCI statement. This marks the second time in two years that an international match has been relocated from Dharamsala. In February 2023, the third Test between India and Australia was moved to Indore because the outfield in Dharamsala was not ready for play.
The first T20I against Bangladesh will be a historic event. It will be the inaugural international match at the new Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior. It will also be the first international cricket match in the city since 2010, when Sachin Tendulkar scored the first-ever double-century in men’s ODIs.