Cricket has embraced tie-breakers of every conceivable variety over the years, from bowl-outs to boundary counts, each one designed to manufacture certainty out of chaos. The Hundred, ever keen to mark itself out as distinct from the T20 format it shares a broadcast slot with, has followed that same instinct. Rather than borrowing the Super Over wholesale, the competition has fashioned its own solution for the biggest matches of the summer. Explainer: How The Hundred Breaks a Tie The Hundred does not use a Super Over for its knockout fixtures. Instead, the Eliminator and the Final are settled by a Super 5, a shortened five-ball shootout unique to the format. Subject to weather conditions, the Super 5 is scheduled to start 10 minutes after the conclusion of the main match, with timing left to the discretion of the umpires. The side that batted second in the original match is handed first use of the bat in the Super 5, a rule that hands a psychological twist to whichever team chased. Should that Super 5 also finish tied, a second Super 5 follows. If that too ends level, the competition falls back on group-stage placing rather than a third shootout. In the Eliminator, the higher-placed side from the group stage progresses to the Final. In the Final itself, the trophy goes to the team that finished top of the table.
MAKE YOUR BET WITH DAFABET AND GET UP TO 200% WELCOME BONUS
Which Hundred final has been the closest in the history? For proof Hundred finals can rival any format for drama, we can fall back to 2022 final where Trent Rockets beat Manchester Originals by two wickets at Lord's in a finish that has since become part of the competition's folklore. Chasing 121, Rockets found themselves requiring 11 from the final five deliveries, on a surface that had troubled batters throughout the contest. Captain Lewis Gregory settled the match in three balls, striking a near-perfect yorker for a flat six over square leg before working a full toss away for four and completing victory with a single. Richard Gleeson, tasked with bowling that fateful final set, sunk to his knees in anguish, having earned an England debut earlier that summer only to taste knockout heartbreak for a second time.
MAKE YOUR BET WITH DAFABET AND GET UP TO 200% WELCOME BONUS
CLICK TO BET
Sam Cook and Samit Patel had earlier restricted Originals to 120 for 9 with combined figures of seven wickets, on what CricViz rated the toughest batting surface of the Hundred season. Ashton Turner's late assault, including the innings' only six, had given the total some respectability. Rockets' chase stumbled through its own collapse, with two wickets falling for four runs inside eight balls before Gregory's composure turned the game on its head. It remains the standard against which every subsequent Hundred final is measured.