One of the top queries of fans in cricket is about Run Rate. Different aspects should be considered during the calculation of the run rate. Here we will talk about, “How to Calculate Run Rate in Cricket?”. The run rate is crucial in any tournament to decide which team is ahead if the winning points are the same for two or more teams.
Brief about “How to Calculate Run Rate in Cricket?”
A team’s net run rate is computed by subtracting the average runs per over scored by the team to the average runs per over scored against that team throughout the tournament. To calculate the Net Run Rate of a team in any tournament, we consider some factors such as total runs scored, total overs faced, total runs conceded, and total overs bowled by that team in that tournament. We can Formulate the Net Run Rate of a team in a tournament as given below:
Note: The fall of wickets to score the runs is not considered in the calculation.
Rules to Calculate Net Run Rate Factors
- Only matches with results will be considered to calculate the net run rate.
- If a team is all out in less than its entire quota of overs, the net run rate is calculated using the full quota of overs to which it would have been allocated rather than the number of overs in which the team was dismissed.
- If a match is abandoned but a result is obtained by Duckworth/Lewis, for net run rate factors, the 1st Team will be acknowledged with the 2nd Team’s Par Score on abandonment off the same number of overs faced by the 2nd Team.
- Where a match is ended but Duckworth/Lewis has been applied earlier in the match, 1st Team will be given 1 run less than 2nd Team’s final Target Score determined by the total number of overs allotted to Team 2 to reach the target.
Example to Calculate Net Run Rate
In the table below, there are Nepal’s match results (Supposed) in a tournament are given.
| Match | Team Score | Opponent Score |
| Nepal vs India | Nep 254/6 (47.2 Overs) | Ind 253/5 (50 Overs) |
| Nepal vs Pakistan | Nep 199/9 (50 Overs) | Pak 110/10 (35.2 Overs) |
| Nepal vs Asutralia | Nep 225/7 (50 Overs) | Aus 103/10 (41 Overs) |
To calculate the net run rate of Nepal in the tournament after three matches, we do as following:
Total Runs Scored = 254 + 199 + 225 = 678, Total Overs Faced = 47 Overs 2 balls + 50 + 50 = 147 Overs and 2 balls = ( 147 + (2 / 6) ) Overs = 147.333 Overs
Average Runs Scored per Over = ( Total Runs Scored / Total Overs Faced ) = 678 / 147.333 = 4.602 runs per over
Total Runs Conceded = 253 + 110 + 103 = 466, Total Overs Bowled = 50+50+50 = 150 Overs (India batted all 50 overs, however, Pakistan and Australia were all out before reaching their full overs quota; therefore, Pakistan and Australia are considered to have played all 50 overs of their full overs quota.)
Average Runs Conceded per Over = ( Total Runs Conceded / Total Overs Bowled ) = 466 / 150 = 3.107 runs per over
Net Run Rate = ( Average Runs Scored per Over – Average Runs Conceded per Over ) = 4.602 – 3.107 = 1.495
In this way, we can calculate the run rate of a team in a tournament. The method has a con, the wickets fall to achieve the score doesn’t impact the run rate.
