DLSmethod

What is the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) Method?

The Duckworth-Lewis method is a way to decide who wins a cricket match when the game gets stopped by rain (or something else) and cannot be finished normally.

In One Day or T20 matches, each team gets a fixed number of overs to play. But if the second team can't play all their overs (because of rain), then it's not fair to compare their total with the first team's full total.

So the DLS method gives the second team a new target that is fair, based on how many overs and wickets they have left.

DLS Method – With a Simple Formula

Key Idea:

In cricket, runs come from overs left and wickets in hand.

So, the DLS method is based on resources:

• How many overs and wickets a team has = how many runs they can score.
• At the start of a match, each team has 100% resources (50 overs, 10 wickets).
• When rain interrupts the second innings, that team’s resources are reduced.

DLS Formula:

Team B's Target = Team A’s Score × (Team B’s Resources / Team A’s Resources)

Usually:

• Team A’s Resources = 100% (because they played the full 50 overs)

So the formula simplifies to:

Team B's Target = Team A’s Score × (Team B’s Resource % / 100)

Example:

Let’s say:

• Team A scores 250 runs in 50 overs → Resources = 100%
• Due to rain, Team B only gets 30 overs
• According to the DLS table, 30 overs with 10 wickets = 75% resources

Apply the formula:

Team B’s Target = 250 × (75 / 100) = 250 × 0.75 = 187.5

Round up → Team B’s Target = 188 runs in 30 overs

Note: Real DLS is More Complex

In real matches, DLS uses predefined tables showing resources left based on overs remaining and wickets lost.

These values come from analyzing thousands of real cricket matches.

But the simple formula above gives a basic understanding of how the DLS method works.