How it works
Net run rate (NRR) separates teams level on points in limited-overs leagues and tournaments, from the IPL to the World Cup. It compares how fast a team scores with how fast it concedes, across the whole competition.
- Run rate for: total runs scored divided by total overs faced.
- Run rate against: total runs conceded divided by total overs bowled.
- Net run rate: the first minus the second.
Three rules catch people out:
- All out counts as the full quota. If a team is bowled out in 18.3 overs of a 20-over match, it is charged with 20 overs. Tick All out and the calculator does this for you.
- Overs are sixths, not tenths. 18.4 overs means 18 overs and 4 balls, which is 18.667 overs in the math.
- Totals, not averages. Tournament NRR comes from adding up all runs and all overs first. It is usually different from the average of each match’s NRR.
The formula
NRR = (runs scored ÷ overs faced) − (runs conceded ÷ overs bowled)
overs as a number = full overs + balls ÷ 6 (18.4 → 18.667)
bowled out = charged the full quota of overs
no result = left out completelyWorked example
South Africa at the 1999 Cricket World Cup scored 1016 runs in 238.2 overs and conceded 851 runs in 250 overs.
- 238.2 overs is 238 + 2 ÷ 6 = 238.333 overs.
- Run rate for: 1016 ÷ 238.333 = 4.263.
- Run rate against: 851 ÷ 250 = 3.404.
- Net run rate: 4.263 − 3.404 = +0.859.
Choose Season totals and enter these figures to check it.
Rain-affected and shortened matches
Revised targets. When rain interrupts a match, a revised target is set with the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method and a result is reached, the team batting first is credited with one run less than the target, off the overs the chasing team was given. The chasing team’s actual runs and overs count as normal. Enter those adjusted figures for the team batting first.
Shortened matches. If both sides had fewer overs, for example 15 each, and a team was bowled out, do not tick All out. Type the full overs that team was allowed, such as 15, instead.
No result. Abandoned and no-result matches are left out of NRR entirely, so do not enter them.
Questions
How is net run rate calculated in the IPL?
The same way as in ICC events: runs per over scored minus runs per over conceded across the season, with bowled-out innings charged the full 20 overs. Enter each IPL match, or the For and Against figures from the points table, to check a team’s NRR.
Why is my NRR not the average of each match?
Because tournament NRR adds up all runs and all overs before dividing. A heavy win in a shortened chase and a narrow loss over the full distance carry different weights, so the average of match NRRs is usually a little different from the real figure.
What happens to NRR when a team is bowled out?
The team is charged the full quota of overs, not the overs it actually faced. Being bowled out for 146 in 18.3 overs of a T20 counts as 146 runs off 20 overs. For the side that bowled them out, it counts as 146 conceded off 20 overs.
What does a positive NRR mean?
That the team scores faster than its opponents score against it, over the tournament. A negative NRR means the opposite. Only the difference matters: a team scoring 7 an over and conceding 6.5 has the same +0.500 as one scoring 9 and conceding 8.5.
How do I read overs like 18.4?
The number after the point is balls, from 0 to 5. So 18.4 is 18 overs and 4 balls, or 112 balls, which is 18.667 overs as a decimal. The overs to balls converter handles these conversions.