# ODI Cricket Rules Explained: 50 Overs a Side

Source: https://cricketin.org/guides/odi-rules-explained

[By Anjali Deshmukh](/authors/cricket-analyst), Cricket Analyst. [Reviewed by Rajeev Sathe](/authors/editor-in-chief), Editor-in-Chief. Updated 27 Aug 2026. Editorial policy: https://cricketin.org/editorial-policy

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How a one-day international works: 50 overs, a 10-over bowler quota, three fielding phases, the two-ball rule to over 34, DLS targets and reviews.

A one-day international gives each side a single innings of up to 50 overs. No bowler may bowl more than 10. Fielding restrictions come in three blocks: overs 1 to 10, 11 to 40, and 41 to 50.

Below we go through the bowler quota, the fielding phases, the two-new-ball rule that changed in 2025, what happens when rain cuts the overs, and how many reviews each side gets.

## The frame of a 50-over match

Each side bats once. Each innings is capped at 50 overs. The match is scheduled for a single day.

The ICC conditions we read are blunt about that last point. A standard ODI has no reserve day. If the weather wins, the weather wins.

We take our rules from the ICC Men's Standard One Day International Playing Conditions. The ICC lists the current edition as effective July 2025 on its [playing conditions page](https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/cricket/rules-and-regulations/playing-conditions), and the [document itself](https://images.icc-cricket.com/image/upload/prd/d25dbgishkx0kijb4jeu.pdf) is public.

Note the word "standard". World Cups and other ICC events publish their own event conditions as well. Those can add reserve days for knockout matches.

Domestic 50-over competitions do the same. India's Vijay Hazare Trophy runs on rules set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. So treat everything here as the international baseline.

## Ten overs, and no more

No bowler may bowl more than 10 overs in a full innings. That is one fifth of 50, or 20% of the innings. A side therefore needs at least five bowling options.

When rain shortens the innings, the quota is one fifth of the new total. If the total does not divide by five, an extra over is allowed to as many bowlers as needed to make up the difference.

A bowler can switch ends whenever the captain wants. He cannot bowl two overs in a row. That is the same alternate-ends rule set out in [Law 17 of the MCC Laws](https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws/the-over).

## Three fielding phases, not two

This is the big structural difference from a T20. An ODI innings has three blocks of fielding restrictions instead of two.

The restricted area is two 30-yard semi-circles from the middle stump at each end, joined by straight lines. Fielders are counted at the instant the ball is delivered.

**Table 1. Fielding restrictions across a 50-over innings**

| Phase | Overs | Fielders allowed outside the 30-yard area | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| First powerplay | 1 to 10 | 2 | Openers can score, but edges carry to a packed ring |
| Middle overs | 11 to 40 | 4 | Spinners bowl with two boundary riders and a sweeper |
| Final phase | 41 to 50 | 5 | The slog, with the deepest field of the innings |

Two limits run all innings long. No more than five fielders on the leg side. No more than two fielders behind square on the on side, other than the keeper.

Break a restriction and the umpire calls no-ball. That gives a run and a free hit. As in T20, every mode of no-ball brings a free hit under the ODI conditions.

## The two-ball rule and how it changed

An ODI innings starts with two new balls, one used from each end in alternate overs. That part has been true for years.

What changed is how long it lasts. Under the July 2025 conditions the two balls are used only for overs 1 to 34. At the end of over 34 the fielding side picks one of the two, and that ball is used for the rest of the innings.

The other ball does not vanish. It goes into the spare ball supply, so it can come back if the chosen one is lost or damaged.

The ball itself is tightly specified. [Law 4 of the MCC Laws](https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws/the-ball) puts a new men's ball between 155.9 and 163 grams, and between 22.4 and 22.9 centimetres round. Umpires hold all match balls from before the toss.

The ICC explained the thinking in its [note on playing condition changes](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/several-changes-made-to-icc-playing-conditions). Two brand-new balls left both balls too fresh at the death, which killed reverse swing in the last overs.

There is a short-match exception. If the game is cut to 25 overs a side or fewer before the first innings starts, each side gets just one new ball.

## When rain still leaves a result

An ODI does not have to finish to count. It has to reach a floor.

The floor is 20 overs for the side batting second. If that side has not had the chance to bat for at least 20 overs, and it is not all out and has not passed the target, the match is a No Result.

Umpires alone decide whether the ground, weather or light are fit. The conditions set a high bar. Conditions must be dangerous, meaning an actual and foreseeable risk to safety, or unreasonable, meaning it makes no sense to carry on. Merely unpleasant is not enough.

Lost time is converted into lost overs at a set rate. The conditions compute revised overs at 14.28 overs an hour of remaining playing time. Up to 90 minutes of extra time can be added by agreement.

## Setting the new target

Once overs are lost, the target has to change. ODIs use the Duckworth Lewis Stern method, which the [ICC formally adopted](https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/cricket/rules-and-regulations/duckworth-lewis-stern).

DLS looks at two resources: balls still to come and wickets still standing. It does not simply scale runs by overs. Our [DLS explainer](/guides/dls-method-explained) works a full example.

The conditions add two useful details. A revised target is always a whole number, and a score exactly one run short is a Tie. If the second innings is abandoned after at least 20 overs, the result is judged against the DLS par score, and matching par is a Tie.

**Why a tie is one run below the target.**

Inputs: side batting first scores 250. Rain cuts the chase to 30 overs. The DLS par score is 187.75 runs.

Formula: target to win = par rounded up. Score to tie = par rounded down.

Result: target to win = 188. Score to tie = 187. Anything at or below 186 is a loss.

Assumptions: the par figure of 187.75 comes from a published Standard Edition resource value of 75.1% for 30 overs with all 10 wickets in hand. The ICC uses the Professional Edition in internationals, and those tables are not public, so a real match figure can differ.

## A tie sends you to a Super Over

Scores level after both completed innings is a Tie under [the Laws](https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws/innings), and the ODI conditions then send the match to a Super Over.

Each side bats one over of six balls. Two wickets end that side's over. More runs wins.

ICC event conditions can differ from the standard document here, so a World Cup final may run on its own text. Always check the event conditions for a knockout game.

## Reviews in an ODI

Each side may have two Player Reviews recorded as unsuccessful per innings. Reviews that succeed are not counted, and neither are lbw reviews that end in umpire's call.

Only two things are reviewable: whether a batter is out, and certain no-ball calls. A player cannot review a wide, and cannot review a call about an illegal bowling action.

Our [DRS guide](/guides/how-drs-works) covers the signal, the 15-second window and the ball-tracking zones in detail.

## How the 50-over game sits between the other two

An ODI is often described as a Test squeezed into a day. It is closer to a T20 stretched out.

**Table 2. The 50-over game against its neighbours**

| Feature | Test | ODI | T20I |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innings a side | Two | One | One |
| Overs a side | No limit | 50 | 20 |
| Max per bowler | No limit | 10 | 4 |
| Fielding phases | None of this kind | Three | Two |
| Draw possible | Yes | No | No |
| Failed reviews per innings | 3 | 2 | 2 |

The comparison in full, including T10 and The Hundred, is on our [formats page](/guides/cricket-formats-explained). The long game gets its own treatment on our [Test cricket guide](/guides/test-cricket-explained), and the short one on our [T20 rules guide](/guides/t20-rules-explained).

## How ODI results feed a tournament table

In a league stage, wins give points and net run rate splits teams on equal points. That is why a chasing captain sometimes hurries.

Net run rate uses runs per over for and against across the whole competition, as [ESPNcricinfo's definition](https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/page/429305.html) sets out. A side bowled out early still has its full quota of overs used in the sum. That is the part most fans get wrong.

Only matches that produced a result count towards the figure. A washed-out game leaves net run rate untouched.

The formula, worked twice, is on our [net run rate page](/guides/how-net-run-rate-works). The 50-over World Cup has been decided on that number before.

## How we checked this page

Every number above was read from the ICC ODI playing conditions or an ICC announcement in August 2026. We did not write any of it from memory.

One gap is worth naming. The current G50 constant used in the Standard Edition of DLS is not published anywhere we could reach. What we still need: The current G50 value for full-member ODIs, ideally from an ICC or DLS methodology document rather than a secondary source.

Our [verification method](/how-we-test) explains the standard we hold ourselves to. Errors get logged in the [corrections page](/corrections), and every explainer is listed on the [guides hub](/guides).

## Questions people ask

### How many overs must be bowled for an ODI to have a result?

The side batting second must have the chance to bat for at least 20 overs. Below that the match is a No Result, unless that side is all out or has already passed the target. The rule is in the [ICC ODI playing conditions](https://images.icc-cricket.com/image/upload/prd/d25dbgishkx0kijb4jeu.pdf).

### Are two new balls still used for a whole ODI innings?

No. Under the July 2025 conditions the two balls alternate only to the end of over 34. The fielding side then chooses one of them for overs 35 to 50, as the [ICC set out](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/several-changes-made-to-icc-playing-conditions).

### Does an ODI have a reserve day?

Not as standard. The ICC Standard ODI conditions provide no reserve day. Individual ICC events can add one through their own event playing conditions, so check those for a knockout match.

### Who decides whether the light is too bad to play?

The umpires, and nobody else. The conditions require the light or weather to be dangerous or unreasonable, not merely unpleasant. Dangerous means an actual and foreseeable risk to a player's safety.

### How many overs can a bowler bowl in a shortened ODI?

One fifth of the revised total. In a 40-over innings that is eight overs. If the total does not divide by five, an extra over is allowed to enough bowlers to cover the balance.

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