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Who can forget India’s Triumph in the 2007 T20 World Cup? The win was even more special as it came against arch-rivals Pakistan. But the tournament was even more special as the young Indian team wasn’t even considered as the title contender for the mega event in South Africa. One memory that is still fresh amongst the fans is that of bowl-out. For India, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and Robin Uthappa were right on the money and struck the stumps. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, and Shahid Afridi, all missed the mark. India won the bowl-out owing to their 3-0 lead. While it is Bowl Out in cricket, it is the away goal rule in football. Similar to the India vs Pakistan game, football has seen some iconic and controversial moments under this rule. It’s not just football or cricket that has seen such cryptic rules but games like chess. Armageddon chess is a particular variation of fast chess in which different rules apply for each of the two players. But what exactly is that? Let's take you through them.
Replacing With Super Over
While bowl out was memorable for every Indian fan, ICC scrapped that rule and replaced it with Super Over. After the game is tied, the game goes into Super Over where every team is given one over and an equal contest between bat and ball is seen. As the name suggests Super Over is one such encounter where the team scoring higher runs win the game. If you remember Super Over rule, you will remember the ‘Infamous’ encounter England & New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup final. The game was tied and it went into Super Over and to everyone’s surprise even the Super Over was tied and then what followed was to be discussed for years to come. England won the match on the boundary count back rule (26–17.) Imagine a World Cup trophy being awarded on the basis of boundaries scored. While the ICC made amends to that rule but in the history book the game New Zealand & England will be remembered for this very reason. But before Super Over it was initially started with Bowl Out and we have had some iconic games under that rule.
What is Bowl OUT?
Bowl Out or sometimes called a bowl-off was used in early stages of T20 cricket to decide the outcome of a match that ends in a tie. Five bowlers from each side try and hit the stumps which is unguarded. Whoever hits the wicket maximum number of times wins the game but If each team has hit the same number of wickets after the first five bowlers per side, the bowl out continues and is decided by sudden death.
The first international bowl out in a T20 match took place on 16 February 2006 between Zealand and West Indies. New Zealand won the game by 3-0 in Auckland. A bowl-out was first used in the NatWest Trophy in June 1991 in a match between Derbyshire and Hertfordshire at Bishops Stortford.
Away Goal rule in Football
Away goal rule is method of determining the outcome of a two-legged game (away and home) in case of an equal aggregate score. If one team had scored more away goals, they would qualify for the next round. Due to this rule UEFA Champions League has experienced some of the most iconic games. Barcelona and Chelsea have played out some quality contests in recent years and their 2012 Champions League meeting was no different. Chelsea reached the Champions League final after the game being tied at 2-2 and Torres winning it for Chelsea in a famous two-legged victory over Barcelona. The PSG vs Manchester United in 2019 game is still remembered by millions of football fans because of the intensity of this game produced at Old Trafford. If it wasn’t for Marcus Rashford’s heroics, Ole Gunner Solskjær’s spell at United would have been deemed as an average one. The game was tied at 3-3 and it was United's two goal advantage at Le Parc des Princes that helped them advance.
Armageddon for ‘BLACK’ advantage
A lot of us have played carrom in our life and it’s the white that is given more points as compared to the black. The rule was never understood but the advantage has always been there. Even in terms of chess we have often seen the white gets the advantage in terms of moving first and when it boil downs to crucial stages, it becomes vital. A variant of blitz chess where a drawn game is counted as a win for Black. This guarantees the game ends decisively, so it can be used as a final tie breaker game. It is used in tournaments such as Chess World Cup as a tie breaker.
Silver Goal
If we are talking about the abolished goals, we ought to mention the Silver Goal rule which UEFA introduced for the 2002-03 season. If after the first fifteen-minute half of extra time the scores were not level the team leading would win, but the game would no longer stop the instant a team scored. Competitions that operated extra time would be able to decide whether to use the golden goal, the silver goal, or neither procedure. Although the rule had its own fans, in February 2004 the rule was abolished owing to game shifting to more casual approach.
DISQUALIFACTION due to Unsportsmanlike conduct in Tennis
The above title can only lead to one man and that is Novak Djokovic in the US Open. His famous outburst has often seen the Serbian among controversy. The 20 Grand Slam winner is often seen being animated on field but his US Open outburst isn’t the first time he has found himself in trouble for. Djokovic has been fined before as well but the star hasn’t capitalised on it and the US Open outset was a major event of It all. The rule also established that maintaining the decorum of the game and respecting the officials should be the priority and the umpire was appreciated for that. The game’s decorum is above the star presence of any individual and the rule clearly stated that.
NO ‘Talking’ rule in Golf
Things often get heat up in global sports as the competitive spirit overpowers all but we also know for a fact that your opponent may win your heart. The biggest example of it all was the bond between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Imagine a rule that doesn’t even allow you to discuss certain things with your opponent! Well, it's not because the rivalry is strong but because competing golfers can’t talk to each other about rules, shot distance, potential hazards or anything that could influence play and asking a fellow golfer would result in a two-stroke penalty.
Ball Stuck in Umpire’s Gear
What sport is impacted by Umpires hinderance and also requires them to have protective gear? Well, a sport like baseball where the umpire stands right behind the catcher and considering the closeness with the striker, they do need apt protective gears but what if the ball gets stuck in their helmet? If the ball gets stuck in a mask, chest guard or anywhere else on an umpires or catcher’s gear results in a dead ball, and all base runners go forward one base.
