# T20 Cricket Rules Explained: Overs, Powerplay and More

Source: https://cricketin.org/guides/t20-rules-explained

[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

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The 20-over rule book in plain English: bowler limits, the six-over powerplay, fielding circles, no-balls and free hits, Super Overs and reviews.

A T20 gives each side one innings of up to 20 overs. No bowler may bowl more than four of them. The first six overs are the powerplay, when only two fielders may stand outside the 30-yard area. From over seven, five may.

This page walks through the whole rule book: bowler limits, the powerplay in shortened games, no-balls and free hits, the over-rate penalty, the Super Over and reviews.

## The basic shape of a T20

Each side bats once. Each innings is capped at 20 overs. The side with more runs wins.

An over is six valid balls. Law 17 of the [MCC Laws of Cricket](https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws/the-over) says a no-ball or a wide does not count as one of the six. So an over can take eight or nine deliveries when a bowler is off line.

The rules we quote here come from the ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions. The ICC lists the current edition as July 2025 in its [playing conditions library](https://www.icc-cricket.com/about/cricket/rules-and-regulations/playing-conditions). The full text we were able to open is the [December 2023 edition hosted by the BCCI](https://documents.bcci.tv/bcci/documents/Mens_Twenty20_International_Playing_Conditions-Effective_December_2023.pdf), and the clause numbers below are from it.

One honest note before we start. Domestic leagues can and do change details. The Indian Premier League, for example, publishes its own conditions. Anything in this guide is the international rule unless we say otherwise.

## How many overs one bowler may bowl

In a full 20-over innings no bowler may bowl more than four overs. That is one fifth of the innings, or 20% of it. So a side needs at least five bowlers.

When rain shortens the innings, the same one-fifth idea applies. If the total is not divisible by five, one extra over is allowed to as many bowlers as needed to make up the balance.

There is a floor. For a rescheduled innings of five to nine overs, the limit is two overs a bowler. The one-fifth rule does not bite below that.

A bowler may swap ends as often as he likes. He may not bowl two overs in a row. If he breaks down mid-over, someone else finishes it, and the part-over counts as a full over only against each bowler's own limit.

**Table 1. Bowler limits by innings length**

| Innings length | Maximum overs per bowler |
|---|---|
| 20 overs | 4 |
| 15 overs | 3 |
| 10 overs | 2 |
| 5 to 9 overs | 2, by the express rule for short innings |

The 15-over and 10-over rows are the one-fifth rule applied. The 5 to 9 row is written out in the conditions themselves.

## The powerplay and the 30-yard circle

A powerplay is a block of overs when most fielders must stay near the bat. In a 20-over innings it is the first six overs.

During those six overs only two fielders may be outside the fielding restriction area at the instant of delivery. From over seven onwards, five may.

The restriction area is not a circle, though everyone calls it one. It is two semi-circles of 30 yards, which is 27.43 metres, drawn from the middle stump at each end and joined by two straight lines. The conditions ask for painted lines or discs every five yards.

Two limits apply all innings, not just in the powerplay. No more than five fielders may be on the leg side. No more than two fielders, other than the keeper, may be behind the popping crease on the on side.

Break any of these and the square-leg umpire calls no-ball. That means a run, and a free hit on the next ball. It is an expensive mistake.

**Table 2. Fielding restrictions in a full T20 innings**

| Phase | Overs | Fielders allowed outside the 30-yard area | Also in force |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powerplay | 1 to 6 | 2 | Max 5 on the leg side; max 2 behind square on the on side |
| Rest of the innings | 7 to 20 | 5 | Same two limits |

## What happens to the powerplay when rain cuts the overs

The powerplay shrinks with the innings. It used to be rounded to the nearest whole over. That could distort a short game badly.

The ICC changed the method from July 2025. The powerplay is now rounded to the nearest ball, as [ESPNcricinfo reported](https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/icc-tweaks-powerplay-rules-for-shortened-t20is-in-men-s-cricket-1492013). The aim is to keep the powerplay near 30% of the innings.

The published example is an eight-over innings. The powerplay becomes 2.2 overs, so the umpire signals after two balls of the third over. Three more fielders may then move back. A nine-over innings gives 2.4 overs. [Olympics.com reported the same change](https://www.olympics.com/en/news/icc-t20-powerplay-overs-rule-change-shortened-matches).

**Why the change matters.**

Inputs: an eight-over innings. Old method rounds the powerplay to 2 overs. New method gives 2.2 overs, which is two overs and two balls.

Formula: powerplay share = powerplay overs divided by innings overs, times 100.

Old method: 2 divided by 8 = 25.0% of the innings. New method: 2.333 divided by 8 = 29.2%. A full 20-over innings gives 6 divided by 20 = 30.0%.

Assumptions: 2.2 overs is treated as 2 + 2/6 overs. This is our own arithmetic on the published figures, not an ICC calculation.

## No-balls and the free hit

A no-ball costs the fielding side one run the moment it is called. The run stands even if a batter is then dismissed. The no-ball does not count as one of the six.

Off a no-ball a batter can only be run out, or out for hitting the ball twice, or for obstructing the field. Bowled, caught and lbw are all off the table.

The Laws list several ways to bowl one. [Law 21](https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws/no-ball) covers throwing, underarm bowling without agreement, and failing to tell the umpire of a change of arm or side. The overstepping kind is only the most common.

Then comes the free hit. The conditions say the delivery after any mode of no-ball is a free hit for whoever is facing. Every kind of no-ball counts, not just the overstepping kind.

On a free hit the striker can only be dismissed in the ways that apply to a no-ball. That is true even if the free-hit ball is called wide. And if the free-hit ball is itself a no-ball or a wide, the next ball is a free hit too.

The field is frozen for a free hit. Fielders may not be moved and positions may not be swapped. There are two exceptions: a change of striker, and a change needed to fix the fielding breach that caused the no-ball in the first place.

The umpire signals a free hit by raising one arm straight up and moving it in a circle, after the usual no-ball signal.

## The over-rate rule that costs a team a fielder

T20I conditions set a minimum rate of 14.11 overs an hour. Slow play has a direct on-field cost, not just a fine.

If the fielding side is not ready to bowl the first ball of the final over by the cut-off time, only four fielders may be outside the circle from the next over. That lasts for the rest of the innings.

Where three or more overs have been lost to rain, the penalty starts from the second-to-last over instead. It does not apply if the innings has been cut below 10 overs, unless the penalty had already kicked in.

Tests now use a stop clock instead. The [ICC set 60 seconds between overs](https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/several-changes-made-to-icc-playing-conditions) there, with five penalty runs after two warnings.

## Super Over: how a tie is broken

Under [Law 16](https://www.lords.org/mcc/the-laws/the-result), a one-innings match is won by the side with more runs in its completed innings. That leaves the level score to be handled by the competition rules.

If the scores are level after both innings, ICC conditions send the match to a Super Over. Each side faces one over of six balls. More runs wins, whatever the wickets.

Two wickets end a side's Super Over. So a team really has two lives, not ten.

If the Super Over is also tied, they play another. The conditions allow an unlimited number, other than in exceptional circumstances. In normal conditions the first one starts five minutes after the match ends.

Delays get extra time. The allowance is the greater of two things: the gap left over from the match's own extra-time provision, or 20 minutes.

## Rain, minimum overs and DLS

A T20 can be washed out without a result. It can also be shortened and still count. Which one happens depends on how many overs the side batting second gets.

The 50-over conditions we read set that floor at 20 overs for an ODI. For T20I matches the floor is much lower, and the exact clause number in the current July 2025 edition is something we could not confirm. Treat the T20I minimum as unverified here: What we still need: The current ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions clause setting the minimum overs for a result.

When overs are cut, the target is reset by the DLS method rather than by simple proportion. Our [DLS guide](/guides/dls-method-explained) shows why proportion would be unfair.

Results in a group stage then feed a table, and ties on points are split by net run rate. Our [net run rate guide](/guides/how-net-run-rate-works) works through the sums, including the trap of winning too slowly.

## Reviews in a T20

Each side gets two failed player reviews an innings under the T20I conditions we opened. A review that overturns the decision does not count against that total.

An lbw review that ends in umpire's call also does not count. That surprises a lot of viewers.

One caution on that number. We read it in the December 2023 edition, and the current edition is dated July 2025. What we still need: The two-review allowance and the short-innings powerplay table against the current ICC Men's T20I Playing Conditions, July 2025 edition, which was not available to us as a full document.

The full procedure, the 15-second limit and the ball-tracking zones are on our [DRS page](/guides/how-drs-works). The count for Tests is different again.

## Where T20 differs from the 50-over game

Many T20 rules are the shortened form of an ODI rule. Others are genuinely different.

**Table 3. T20I and ODI rules compared**

| Rule | T20I | ODI |
|---|---|---|
| Overs a side | 20 | 50 |
| Max per bowler | 4 | 10 |
| Fielding phases | Two | Three |
| New balls | One per innings | Two, alternating to over 34, then one is chosen |
| Failed reviews per innings | 2 | 2 |
| Free hit after a no-ball | Yes | Yes |

The ODI ball rule in that table is from the [ICC ODI conditions effective July 2025](https://images.icc-cricket.com/image/upload/prd/d25dbgishkx0kijb4jeu.pdf). Full detail is on our [50-over rules page](/guides/odi-rules-explained), and the format comparison sits in our [formats overview](/guides/cricket-formats-explained).

## How we verified this page

We do not trust memory on cricket rules. Powerplay lengths, bowler limits and review counts have all moved in the past few years.

Every number above was read out of an ICC document or an ICC announcement in August 2026. Where the edition we could open is older than the current one, we said so in the text.

Our [verification standard](/how-we-test) sets out the rule we follow. More explainers sit on the [guides hub](/guides). This page carries no operator links and nothing to click and bet on.

## Questions people ask

### How many fielders can be outside the circle in the powerplay?

Two, at the instant of delivery. From over seven onwards it becomes five. Both figures are in the [ICC T20I playing conditions](https://documents.bcci.tv/bcci/documents/Mens_Twenty20_International_Playing_Conditions-Effective_December_2023.pdf).

### Can a bowler bowl five overs in a T20?

No. In a full 20-over innings the limit is four. In a shortened innings the limit is one fifth of the total overs, with an extra over allowed to make up an uneven balance.

### Does a wide on a free hit end the free hit?

No. If the free-hit delivery is a no-ball or a wide, the next delivery is a free hit again. And on a free hit the striker can only be dismissed in the ways that apply to a no-ball, even if the ball is called wide.

### How many wickets can a team lose in a Super Over?

Two. The loss of a second wicket ends that side's one-over innings, even if balls remain.

### Are IPL rules the same as international T20 rules?

Not always. Domestic leagues publish their own playing conditions and can differ on details. Everything on this page is the international rule from ICC documents.

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