Are T20 Cricket games always played to the last ball?

Question

Is there a point in a T20 match in which the losing team is mathematically eliminated (ie, no possibility of winning the match), and if so does the game end at that point?

For example, Team A bats first, and scores 150-4 in their 20 overs. Team B's innings starts, and in the first 19 overs, they only score 110-4. In the remaining over, even if every bowl resulted in a 6, Team B would only end up with 146-4. So does the match end at the point when Team B can no longer mathematically win the game, or do they play out all 20 overs (or 10 wickets), regardless of the current score?

(Or do I misunderstand the rules and it's possible to score more than 36 runs in an over, somehow?)

Answer 1

Yes, you misunderstand the rules. Firstly, wides and no-balls mean there can be more than 6 balls in an over, so more than 36 can and has been scored in an over. Secondly, more than 6 runs can be scored from a ball in the case of overthrows or the like. The third possibility is penalty runs against the fielding side for various offences, most commonly the ball hitting a helmet on the field of play.

The other point to consider is that a lot of tournaments worry about net run rate or the like as a tie-breaker.