# How Net Run Rate Works: Formula and Worked Examples Source: https://cricketin.org/guides/how-net-run-rate-works [By Anjali Deshmukh](/authors/cricket-analyst), Cricket Analyst. [Reviewed by Rajeev Sathe](/authors/editor-in-chief), Editor-in-Chief. Updated 31 Aug 2026. Editorial policy: https://cricketin.org/editorial-policy 18+ Betting money on cricket carries a direct risk of financial loss, and it can become an addiction. Real-money online gaming is banned across India under the PROG Act 2025, which came into force on 1 May 2026. If betting is already costing you money you need, or sleep, or people close to you, the free Tele-MANAS helpline is **14416**, and it runs in 20 languages. Our [page on help for gambling harm](/guides/help-for-gambling-harm-india) lists what else exists. --- Net run rate explained with full arithmetic: the formula, converting overs like 17.2, the all-out rule, a four-team table and why slow wins hurt. Net run rate is runs scored per over minus runs conceded per over, added up across a whole tournament. It separates teams that finish level on points. Two details decide most arguments. Overs like 17.2 mean 17.333 in the sum, not 17.2. And when a side is bowled out early, its full quota of overs is used, not the overs it actually faced. We work several examples below. ## What net run rate is for Teams in a group often finish level on points. Cricket needs a way to separate them. Net run rate is that way. [ESPNcricinfo's explanation](https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/page/429305.html) calls it the preferred method of breaking ties in multi-team one-day tournaments. It has decided World Cup semi-final places. The idea is simple. Score fast and concede slowly across the whole tournament, and your number goes up. Note the words "whole tournament". Net run rate is not a per-match figure. It is one running total for the competition. ## The formula, written out There are only two halves to it. Runs you score per over, minus runs you concede per over. **The formula.** Inputs: total runs your team has scored in the competition, total overs your team has faced, total runs conceded, total overs bowled. Formula: net run rate = (total runs scored divided by total overs faced) minus (total runs conceded divided by total overs bowled). Result: a number in runs per over. Positive means you have been the better side on run rate. Negative means you have not. Assumptions: only matches that produced a result are counted. A no-result game changes nothing. Both halves use all matches added together. You do not average the net run rate of each match. Doing that gives a different, wrong answer. ## Overs are not decimals, and this is where people slip A scorecard says 17.2 overs. That does not mean 17.2 in arithmetic. It means 17 overs and 2 balls. An over is six balls, as [Law 17 of the MCC Laws](https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws/the-over) sets out. So two balls is two sixths of an over, which is 0.333. To convert, divide the balls by six and add. 17.2 overs becomes 17.333. A score of 45.3 overs becomes 45.5. A total of 147.2 overs becomes 147.333. Get this wrong and every figure that follows is wrong. It is the single most common mistake in home-made net run rate tables. **Table 1. Converting overs to decimals** | Scorecard reads | Balls | Use in the sum | |---|---|---| | 17.2 | 104 | 17.333 | | 19.3 | 117 | 19.500 | | 32.4 | 196 | 32.667 | | 45.3 | 273 | 45.500 | | 147.2 | 884 | 147.333 | ## The rule that catches everyone: a side bowled out Suppose you bowl a side out for 180 in 32.4 overs of a 50-over match. How many overs go into your sum? Fifty. Not 32.4. When a side is bowled out before its overs are up, the full quota is used in the denominator. The reason is fairness. Bowling a side out early is a triumph, so it should not be punished by a high runs-per-over figure against you. An innings that ends because a side is all out is a completed innings under [Law 13](https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws/innings). The net run rate rule treats it as if the overs were all used. ## Worked example one: a fast chase in a T20 Here is a full calculation with real arithmetic. Nothing is rounded until the end. **Example one. A T20 chase completed early.** Inputs: your side chased 150 and made 152 in 17.2 overs. The opposition scored 149 in its full 20 overs. Convert: 17.2 overs = 17 + 2 divided by 6 = 17.333 overs. Formula: net run rate = (152 divided by 17.333) minus (149 divided by 20). Result: 8.769 minus 7.450 = plus 1.319 runs per over. Assumptions: this is a single match, so tournament figures would add other games in. The opposition batted its full 20 overs, so no all-out adjustment is needed. Notice how much the 17.333 matters. Using 17.2 as a decimal would give 8.837 and a net run rate of 1.387. That is wrong by 0.068, which is enough to move a team in a tight table. ## Worked example two: bowling a side out This second example shows the all-out rule doing its work. **Example two. A 50-over match where the opposition is bowled out.** Inputs: you scored 250 in your full 50 overs. You bowled the other side out for 180 in 32.4 overs. Convert: 32.4 overs = 32 + 4 divided by 6 = 32.667 overs. The wrong way: 250 divided by 50 = 5.000. 180 divided by 32.667 = 5.510. Net run rate = minus 0.510. The right way: because the side was bowled out, use its full quota of 50 overs. 180 divided by 50 = 3.600. Net run rate = 5.000 minus 3.600 = plus 1.400. Assumptions: the 50-over quota is the one in force for that match. If rain had cut the innings to 40 overs, 40 would be the quota. The gap between those two answers is 1.910 runs per over. Same match, same scores, one rule. That is why the rule is worth knowing. ## A small group table, worked from scratch Now put four teams together. Each has played three 50-over matches, and every match produced a result. **Table 2. A four-team group with net run rate calculated** | Team | Runs for | Overs faced | Runs against | Overs bowled | Net run rate | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Team A | 672 | 136.167 | 543 | 140.000 | plus 1.057 | | Team B | 591 | 150.000 | 690 | 141.833 | minus 0.925 | | Team C | 632 | 131.833 | 730 | 138.333 | minus 0.483 | | Team D | 600 | 150.000 | 583 | 147.833 | plus 0.056 | **Team A, step by step.** Inputs: 672 runs scored from 136.167 overs faced. 543 runs conceded from 140 overs bowled. Formula: net run rate = (672 divided by 136.167) minus (543 divided by 140). Result: 4.935 minus 3.879 = plus 1.057 runs per over. Assumptions: the overs figures are already converted from ball notation. Overs faced total less than 150 because Team A finished two chases early. Team D is the interesting one. Its net run rate is plus 0.056, barely above zero, because it won narrowly and batted out its overs. On level points it would finish below Team A and above Team C. ## Why net run rate punishes a slow win A win is a win for points. It is not a win for net run rate. Chase a target with one ball to spare and your run rate for that match is barely above the target rate. Chase it with six overs to spare and it is far higher. The points are identical. **The same win, two speeds.** Inputs: the opposition made 149 in 20 overs, so 7.450 runs per over. You chase 150 and win by two wickets both times. Case one, three balls to spare: 150 runs in 19.3 overs, which is 19.5 decimal. 150 divided by 19.5 = 7.692. Net run rate = 7.692 minus 7.450 = plus 0.242. Case two, six overs to spare: 150 runs in 14 overs. 150 divided by 14 = 10.714. Net run rate = 10.714 minus 7.450 = plus 3.264. Result: the fast win is worth 3.022 runs per over more, for the same two points. Assumptions: single match again. In a real tournament the effect is diluted by the other games, but the direction is the same. This is why you see captains taking risks in a chase that is already won. They are batting for the table, not the match. It also explains a strange sight. A side that has lost badly will still bat out its overs, because a shorter innings makes its own runs-per-over figure worse. ## Rain-affected matches and DLS A match decided by the Duckworth Lewis Stern method needs special handling. Otherwise the side that never batted would have no figure at all. ESPNcricinfo sets out two cases. If a match is abandoned but a result is reached under DLS, the side batting first is credited with the second side's par score off the overs that side faced. If the match is completed after an earlier DLS revision, the side batting first is credited with one run less than the second side's final target, off the overs allocated to it. The par score itself comes from resource tables. [Wikipedia's account of the DLS method](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duckworth%E2%80%93Lewis%E2%80%93Stern_method) notes that the Professional Edition parameters were withheld for commercial reasons, so you cannot recompute an official par figure yourself. Both rules exist to keep the two halves of the formula comparable. The [ICC's DLS page](https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/cricket/rules-and-regulations/duckworth-lewis-stern) explains the underlying method, and our [DLS guide](/guides/dls-method-explained) works a target example. ## Net run rate in different formats The formula does not change between formats. Only the quota does, and the quota comes from the relevant rule book in the [ICC playing conditions library](https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/cricket/rules-and-regulations/playing-conditions). In a T20 group the quota is 20 overs, as the [ICC T20I conditions](https://documents.bcci.tv/bcci/documents/Mens_Twenty20_International_Playing_Conditions-Effective_December_2023.pdf) set out. In a 50-over group it is 50, per the [ICC ODI conditions](https://images.icc-cricket.com/image/upload/prd/d25dbgishkx0kijb4jeu.pdf). Test cricket does not use net run rate at all. Short formats make net run rate more volatile. One heavy defeat in a T20 group can sink a side's figure beyond repair, because the denominator is small. For the rules of each format, see our [T20 guide](/guides/t20-rules-explained), our [50-over guide](/guides/odi-rules-explained) and the [formats overview](/guides/cricket-formats-explained). ## How we checked the arithmetic Every number on this page was computed, not remembered. We ran each example through a calculator and reproduced the published worked example as a control. That control is the one on ESPNcricinfo's page. South Africa at the 1999 World Cup scored 678 from 147.333 overs, which is 4.602 per over, and conceded 466 from 150 overs, which is 3.107. The difference is plus 1.495, matching the published figure. Our [verification method](/how-we-test) explains why we do that. Any error gets logged on the [corrections page](/corrections). More explainers are on the [guides hub](/guides). ## Questions people ask ### Is net run rate calculated per match or per tournament? Per tournament. You add up all runs scored and all overs faced across every match with a result, then do the same for runs conceded and overs bowled. Averaging each match's net run rate gives the wrong answer. ### What does 17.2 overs mean in the formula? Seventeen overs and two balls, which is 17.333 in decimals. Divide the balls by six and add them to the overs. Treating 17.2 as a decimal inflates your run rate. ### Why is a team's full quota used when it is bowled out? So that taking ten wickets is rewarded rather than punished. [ESPNcricinfo's rule](https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/page/429305.html) uses the full quota in the denominator whenever a side is dismissed before its overs run out. ### Do abandoned matches affect net run rate? No. Only matches that produced a result count. A washout leaves both sides' figures exactly where they were. ### Why do teams keep attacking after a chase is already safe? Because finishing faster lifts their net run rate. 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