What is the DLS method in cricket? The Duckworth–Lewis–Stern (DLS) method adjusts the target or determines the result of a rain-affected limited-overs match. Instead of reducing the target simply because fewer overs remain, it accounts for a team’s two scoring resources: overs available and wickets remaining.
This guide explains the difference between a revised DLS target and a DLS par score, how rain interruptions change a chase, the minimum-overs rules for men’s ODIs and T20Is, and real cases from international cricket. Last reviewed: 23 October 2026.
Quick answer: DLS is used in limited-overs cricket when an interruption changes the overs available. A revised target is the score required to win if play resumes; the par score is the score that would produce a tie if a qualifying match ends at that point. The official calculation is made using the applicable DLS software and match conditions—not by dividing the original target by the new number of overs.
What Does DLS Stand for in Cricket?
DLS stands for Duckworth–Lewis–Stern, named after mathematicians Frank Duckworth, Tony Lewis and Steven Stern. The earlier Duckworth–Lewis method was adopted by the ICC in 1999, while Stern’s name was added in 2014 when the international system was updated. The current name is often shortened to DLS; older scorecards and articles may say D/L.
The aim is not to predict exactly what a team would have scored in an uninterrupted match. It is to compare the run-scoring opportunities available to each side after conditions change. For the ICC’s account of its development, see the history of the DLS method.
How the DLS Method Works: Overs and Wickets Are Resources
A batting side begins with a finite opportunity to score: a set number of overs and ten wickets. As legal deliveries are bowled, overs are used. As wickets fall, the remaining batters generally have less ability to exploit the time left. DLS combines both factors when calculating resources.
Suppose rain cuts a chase from 50 overs to 35. A side at 90/0 when play stops is in a different position from a side at 90/7 at the same point. Both would have 15 fewer overs, but the side with seven wickets down has already lost far more batting capacity. That is why the score, the wickets and the exact stage of each interruption matter.
Remember: DLS does not simply use (original target × revised overs ÷ original overs). A side with only 20 overs to chase can attack with ten wickets available from the start, so its scoring resources are not necessarily half those of a 40-over chase.
When Is DLS Used—and When Is It Not?
DLS becomes relevant if rain, unsafe conditions or another interruption removes playing time and changes the allotted overs in a limited-overs match. Officials calculate or confirm the revised target if a chase can resume. If the second innings cannot resume after the minimum requirement has been satisfied, the par score at the stoppage determines the result.
A delay alone does not guarantee a DLS adjustment. If no overs are lost, the original target remains. If neither side has had the required opportunity to bat, the match normally becomes no result rather than a DLS win. And if a team has already achieved an outright result, subsequent rain does not undo it.
| Situation | What happens? |
|---|---|
| Rain delay, no overs removed | Play resumes with the original target |
| Rain reduces the chase | Officials issue a revised DLS target for the new overs allocation |
| Qualifying chase stops and cannot resume | Compare the batting side’s score with its DLS par score at the precise stoppage |
| Required minimum opportunity is not reached | Normally no result, subject to the playing conditions and early-result exceptions |
DLS Revised Target vs DLS Par Score: The Difference
These terms are frequently confused on television graphics. A revised target is the total the chasing side must reach to win after a shortened innings. A par score is the score the chasing side must equal to tie if the match is finally abandoned at that exact point.
A par score is a moving reference point, not necessarily a final target for the remaining overs. It can change with the number of legal balls completed and with wickets lost. Always check whether a broadcaster labels the number as the target to win or the par score.
| Scoreboard label | Meaning | If batting side reaches it |
|---|---|---|
| Revised DLS target | Total required to win in the reduced chase | Wins the chase |
| DLS par score | Total that would tie a match terminated at that point | Ties if the match ends at that point and the minimum-overs condition is met |
| One above par | Par score + 1 at the stoppage | Wins by one run if the match ends at that point |
| One below par | Par score − 1 at the stoppage | Loses by one run if the match ends at that point |
Worked Example 1: Reading a DLS Par Score at the Stoppage
Illustrative teaching scenario—not an official DLS computation: A T20 chase is stopped after 12 completed overs. Assume the officially communicated par score for that exact score-and-wickets situation is 92, and conditions prevent any more play. The match has met the applicable minimum-overs requirement.
We do not claim to have calculated that par score from the match figures. This example shows how to interpret a par score once officials have provided it.
| Chasing side at the stoppage | Compare with assumed par score of 92 | Result if play cannot resume |
|---|---|---|
| 95 runs | 3 above par | Win by 3 runs under DLS |
| 92 runs | Exactly par | Match tied |
| 90 runs | 2 below par | Lose by 2 runs under DLS |
The details would differ if the score, wickets, balls completed, applicable playing conditions or other circumstances were different. Do not apply a par score from one delivery or wicket situation to another.
Worked Example 2: West Indies vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2024
In the 24 June 2024 T20 World Cup Super Eight match, West Indies finished on 135/8 against South Africa. Rain interrupted South Africa’s response. According to the ICC’s match report, the chase was shortened and the revised target became 123 runs in 17 overs.
At the five-over mark, the ICC reported a DLS par score of 37, while South Africa were 41/2—four ahead of that checkpoint. The par score was a benchmark for a stoppage; the revised 123-run target was the requirement for the resumed 17-over chase. South Africa eventually won with five balls to spare.
This is a useful distinction: 37 at five overs and 123 in 17 overs were not competing calculations. They answered different questions. See the ICC’s match report. Our T20 and ODI Powerplay guide explains why an innings reduced to 17 overs can also change fielding restrictions. For the positions involved in those field-setting decisions, see our cricket field positions diagram.
Worked Example 3: India vs New Zealand's DLS Tie in 2022
A rain-affected chase can finish exactly tied under DLS. On 22 November 2022 at Napier, New Zealand made 160. India reached 75/4 after nine overs before rain prevented further play. The official DLS par score at that stoppage was 75, so the match was tied.
This was a real DLS tie, not a situation in which India needed another run to tie. When play is abandoned and the two scores match the par score, the result is a tie. The ICC documents the case in its New Zealand–India series review, while M88Sports also covered the third T20I rain-affected tie.
How Is a DLS Target Calculated? What Fans Can and Cannot Work Out
The process begins by recording the starting overs allocation, the score and wickets at each suspension, and the overs remaining after officials reset the match. The relevant DLS resource calculations quantify how much scoring opportunity each side had available. Match officials then produce the revised target and, when needed, a ball-by-ball or over-by-over par-score schedule.
The ICC’s modern DLS system uses licensed calculation software. The ICC also publishes a Duckworth–Lewis Standard Edition resource table that can be used where the professional system is unavailable, but the older manual method and current computer-based DLS are not interchangeable. Different versions can yield different targets.
Illustration of the older resource concept only: if the first team scores 250 and has an assumed resource allocation of 100%, while the chasing side is assigned an assumed 80%, a simple proportional model gives 250 × (80 ÷ 100) = 200, with 201 needed to win. Those resource percentages are made up for teaching, not derived from an actual game, and 201 must not be presented as an official modern DLS target.
Can you calculate the exact DLS target with a normal calculator? Usually not reliably. An authentic target requires the applicable resource calculations, software/version and precise match information. For official results, use the scorer’s communicated target and the competition’s playing conditions rather than an unofficial online estimate.
Minimum Overs for a DLS Result in T20 and ODI Cricket
The October 2026 ICC men’s standard playing conditions provide these minimum opportunities for the teams to bat. A result can still arise earlier if a side is all out or the chasing side scores enough runs to win; competition-specific conditions must always be checked.
| Match format | Ordinary innings allocation | Minimum opportunity for an ordinary result |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s T20 International | 20 overs per side | 5 overs per side, with the early-result exceptions |
| Men’s ODI | 50 overs per side | 20 overs per side, with the early-result exceptions |
| Domestic or special tournament | Varies | Read that competition’s playing conditions; do not assume the international threshold |
For example, if the chasing side has faced only 3.2 overs of a men’s T20I and the chase has not already ended in a recognized result, permanent abandonment normally means no result, even if the chasing side appears ahead of a live DLS projection. By contrast, after an eligible five-over minimum, officials can declare a result using the par score. Refer to the ICC’s October 2026 T20I and ODI playing conditions, clauses 16.1 and 16.4.
Why Can a Revised DLS Target Seem Higher Than Expected?
Fans often think rain must always lower the target. It commonly does when the chasing side loses overs, but DLS compares the resources available to each team, not simply the second team’s new innings length. If the side batting first had interruptions that removed more resources than the chasing side ultimately receives, the relative adjustment can require a higher target than a simple run-rate comparison suggests.
High-scoring innings and the applicable DLS version also influence the calculation. This is why comparing only the original score and the revised overs is insufficient. Do not claim that one particular rain-adjusted figure is unfair without seeing the precise interruption history and the official method.
DLS Method vs Net Run Rate: Two Different Calculations
DLS helps determine a revised target or result inside one interrupted match. Net run rate (NRR) compares teams’ scoring and conceding rates across eligible matches to help separate teams in a tournament table. The two are connected when a match affected by DLS contributes to a standings calculation, but they are not the same statistic.
For an example of the aggregate NRR formula, correct cricket overs conversion, and the special treatment of rain-adjusted matches, see our Net Run Rate Calculator and examples. Its standard-match calculator is not a DLS target calculator, so do not enter an unofficial rainfall-adjusted total and treat the output as the competition’s authoritative NRR.
| Question | DLS | Net run rate |
|---|---|---|
| What is it for? | Adjust a target or decide a qualifying interrupted match | Compare scoring efficiency for standings |
| Main inputs | Overs remaining, wickets lost, interruption history and official resources | Aggregate runs scored/conceded and corrected overs |
| What it produces | Revised target or par score | Positive or negative runs-per-over differential |
| Can you substitute one for the other? | No | No |
Common DLS Mistakes When Watching a Rain-Affected Match
- Calling par score the target: at permanent abandonment, matching par is a tie; beating it wins.
- Using simple run-rate mathematics: DLS also considers wickets and changes in the resources available.
- Ignoring whether overs were actually lost: a temporary delay without a reduction may leave the original target unchanged.
- Forgetting the minimum-overs requirement: a side appearing ahead of par does not automatically turn an ineligible stoppage into a completed match.
- Reading 9.4 as decimal overs: in cricket notation, 9.4 means nine overs and four legal balls, not 9.4 mathematical overs.
- Assuming all online calculators match ICC software: results depend on method and version. Use the official announcement for the match.
For another distinction between a rain stoppage and a result-producing DLS adjustment, see our report on the Delhi Capitals–Sunrisers Hyderabad washout, which ended as a no-result IPL match.
Official Rules and Research Sources
The explanation above was checked against the ICC’s official DLS documentation and men’s playing conditions effective October 2026. Historical examples are separately attributed to the ICC’s contemporaneous reports.
- ICC — Duckworth–Lewis–Stern methodology and resources
- ICC — October 2026 ODI and T20I playing conditions
- ICC — West Indies vs South Africa 2024 match report
- ICC — India vs New Zealand 2022 DLS tie
Editorial note: All hypothetical par scores and resource shares in this article are identified as teaching examples. Official match scores and DLS results are cited as historical facts. Reviewed on 23 October 2026.
DLS Method in Cricket: Frequently Asked Questions
DLS means Duckworth–Lewis–Stern, named after Frank Duckworth, Tony Lewis and Steven Stern. It is used to adjust limited-overs targets or determine results after eligible interruptions.
Yes. In T20 matches governed by DLS playing conditions, the method can revise a target when overs are lost and can determine the result of an eligible unfinished chase.
No. The adjustment compares both teams’ scoring resources, including overs and wickets, and depends on when interruptions happened. A simple proportional reduction can be misleading.
It is the score that would tie the match if a qualifying second innings were permanently terminated at the exact current ball-and-wicket situation. One above par wins; one below par loses.
The revised target is the number required to win in the remaining overs of a resumed chase. Par is the reference score for a tie if the match ends at the relevant stoppage.
Under the ICC’s October 2026 men’s T20I playing conditions, teams ordinarily need the opportunity for at least five overs each, except where an earlier valid result has been achieved.
Under the ICC’s October 2026 men’s ODI playing conditions, the ordinary minimum is 20 overs per side, with specified exceptions for an innings ending early or a completed chase.
Yes. India finished 75/4 after nine overs against New Zealand at Napier in November 2022. Their official DLS par score was 75 when play ended, so the match was tied.
Unofficial calculators can help illustrate the concept, but the match’s applicable software version, accurate resources and interruption details are required for an authoritative target. Trust the official scorer and playing conditions.
It can. The competition’s NRR rules specify how runs and overs are adjusted for result-producing DLS matches. DLS and NRR are different calculations; use official standings and rules.
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