If you think the 2007 final being played in darkness was farcical, the 2011 World Cup may throw its very own version of despicable moments in the knockout phase - courtesy 'one over per side eliminator', acronymed as OOPSE, or more popularly known as the 'Super Over'. While the ties like the one MS Dhoni luckily secured against Andrew Strauss get a spectator his money's worth, they don't serve any good in the knockout phase that starts on Thursday with the first of the four quarterfinals between West Indies and Pakistan in Dhaka. So the ICC had to come up with a solution to decide a winner in case the teams end up scoring equal runs or in a no-match scenario.
The 'OOPSE' comes into picture only if the teams end up with the same score. In such a situation, the one-over eliminator - where each team appoints three batsmen and a bowler who slug it out for six deliveries, will decide the winner.
But the flip side is that in some situations, such as rain after a tied game, even the one-over eliminator may not be possible, not even on the reserve day that has been allocated to each knockout fixture. What happens then? Hold your breath!
The team that finished in the higher position in the group stage proceeds to the semi-finals. And the same rule applies if rain prevents constitution of a legitimate match on the match day and reserve day.
Besides being ridiculous, the rule may influence the decision of umpires and captains, who may want to complete a match in conditions that they would have otherwise refused to play in. That could include a slippery playing surface, fading light or a badly behaved crowd.
And it might not take long for that drama to unfold as rain has been forecast for the first quarterfinal on Wednesday. And if the match can't be constituted even after including the reserve day, Pakistan may laugh their way into the semifinals by virtue of topping Group A.
The same rule applies in the semi-finals, which means if a team played out of its skin to win its quarterfinal, it may still end up packing its bags without a ball being bowled in the semis.
If that has left you flabbergasted, then read the following about OOPSE at your own peril:
1. The team batting second in the match will bat first in the OOPSE. (Why not a fresh toss to make it more fair?)
2. In the event of the teams having the same score after the one-over eliminator has been completed, the team whose batsmen hit the most number of boundaries
combined from its two innings in both the main match and the OOPSE is declared the winner.
3. If the number of boundaries hit by both teams is equal, the team whose batsmen scored more boundaries during its innings in the main match (ignoring the OOPSE) is declared the winner.
4. If still equal, a count-back from the final ball of the OOPSE shall be conducted. The team with the higher scoring delivery shall be the winner. If a team loses two wickets during its over, then any unbowled deliveries will be counted as dot balls.
A little sanity, though, must have prevailed when the ICC put its brains into applying the same rule for the final.
In the event of a tied final, the teams will compete in the one-over eliminator to determine the champion.
However, if following a tie, weather prevents the one-over eliminator, or if the match is a no result, then the teams will be declared joint winners.
Although that's one way of keeping both the finalists happy, a better option still would have been to make the final of such a big tournament a best-of-three affair, a suggestion to which ICC has been turning a deaf ear for the past decade.
No doubt this has been one of the most open World Cups in recent times and while the group stage has whetted the fan' appetite, the main course will be served during the knockout phase. The only fear, though, remains is about the taste getting sour due to ICC's OOPS(E) moments.
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