Dubai: The humdinger of IPL matches between Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Mumbai Indians (MI) and the one between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday was the fifth instance of two T20 matches of a tournament being tied on the same day.
This first happened in 2018 in Sri Lanka, and the latest instance occurred on Sunday, when the two IPL matches, played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively, went into Super Over. The second game between KL Rahul-led KXIP and Rohit Sharma’s MI required a second Super Over to break the deadlock after the first Super Over also ended in a tie.
The earlier instances of two matches being tied on the same day, according to statistician Rajneesh Gupta, are Standard Bank Pro20 Series in SA in 2009, Friends Life T20 Series in England in 2011, SLC Twenty20 Tournament in Sri Lanka in 2018; and, CSA Provincial T20 Cup in SA in 2019. In Friends LifeT20 series, the two semi-finals were tied on the same day
On Sunday, in the first IPL match, KKR scored 163 for five wickets in their allotted 20 overs and SRH and made 163 for six wickets in 20 overs. The match was eventually won by KKR as Lockie Ferguson conceded just two runs which the Eoin Morgan led-side chased down rather easily.
In the second game of the day, MI batted first and scored 176 for six wickets and KXIP ended up making the same score, losing the same number of wickets in 20 overs. In the first Super Over, both teams scored five runs, thus forcing another Super Over which was eventually won by Kings XI.
This is the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League being played in the United Arab Emirates, as the competition could not be organised in India due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The final is slated for November 10, though the venue is yet to be announced.
