What is Duckworth-Lewis Method in Cricket & How it is Used?

DLS Method: Duckworth-Lewis-Sterm (DLS) method is a formula which is used in rain or other interrupted matches. By this method, the target score is reduced in a limited over matches for the 2nd batting team.

Duckworth-Lewis method in cricket
Duckworth-Lewis method

The very first use of the Duckworth-Lewis method;

The first match in which the DLS method was used was between Zimbabwe vs England in 1997.

The DLS Method was first introduced in 1997 and officially adopted by the ICC in 1999. It was refined in 2014 by Steven Stern, an Australian statistician. The improved version is much more accurate and handy, especially in T20 format.

# Inventor of the Duckworth-Lewis method;

The method is the invention of statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis. On the name of these two guys, this method is as popular as the Duckworth-Lewis method.

How does DLS Method Works in T20 cricket?

The DLS method in T20 works in the same manner as in ODI. The second batting team has to chase the target based on their wickets left, how much runs they have scored till now, and the given target.

For example, If there’s a rain delay then Team 2 has 90% resources available and Team 1 uses 100% of its resources and scores 254 runs. Then the target for Team 2 is 254 × 90/100 = 228.6. So it means, 229 is the required target to win the game for Team 2 and 228 to draw the game.

The given DLS Methods formula is used to set the target for the 2nd batting team via DLS method.

DLS method formula

The DLS method is also used in other scenarios as well, suppose there’s a team batting 1st and the rain interrupts the game and the time is running out. Then it doesn’t mean that Team 2 is going to chase the runs that were scored by Team 1 in the overs they have played. By considering the overs left and overs played and also how many wickets are left at that point of time, a suitable target is decided for Team 2. Doing this is fair play for both teams because Team 1 was unaware of the match being interrupted.

DLS method formula
DLS METHOD

DLS Method Chart:

Here is the DLS Method chart to give an idea of how the target has been set for the teams considering all the resources of both teams and the target set by 1st batting team.

This is the all possible combination by which a target is been set.

DLS Method chart

Duckworth Lewis Method: How this method can be used?

As per the method, there are two types of resources available with every team.

These two resources are used at every point of time in the match.

1. Remaining over

2. Remaining wickets

Based on these two resources, Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis have created a chart indicating the number of resources remaining for the batting side in various situations.

                                                                         Wickets lost
Overs left02579
50100.083.849.526.57.6
4090.377.648.326.47.6
3077.168.245.726.27.6
2568.761.843.425.97.6
2058.954.040.025.27.6
1034.132.527.520.67.5
518.417.916.414.07.0

On Seeing this chart, it is visible that when a team has entire 50 overs and 10 wickets before the start of the game, it can be said that the team possesses 100% resources.

As the team uses up its overs and loses wickets, its resources diminish progressively throughout the game.

For instance, if a team has played 20 overs and lost 2 wickets, it means the team has 30 overs and 8 wickets remaining. According to the Duckworth-Lewis method, the team would then have 67.3 percent of resources left.

DLS Method

Now Suppose, it starts raining at this point and 10 overs of the match are washed out, leaving the batting with only 20 overs and already having lost two wickets. According to the Duckworth-Lewis method, the batting team has only 52.4% of its resources remaining in its hands.

So the rain has washed out  67.3 – 52.4 = 14.9 resources of the batting side.

As we have mentioned earlier that the team batting first had used its 100% resources but the resources available to the team batting second are just 100- 14.9 = 85.10 resources. In other words, it can be said that 14.9% of the resources for the second team have been lost due to rain.

However, this explanation appears biased because the team first has utilized 100% of their resources, while the second team had only 85.10% of their resources. To ensure fair play both teams should have equal resources. Under this condition, the Duckworth-Lewis method will reduce the target set by the team batting first.

According to the Duckworth-Lewis method, if rain interrupts the innings of the second team, the target should be adjusted, Hence the target set by the first team will be reduced.

Conversely, if the rain affects the innings of the team batting first, their target will be increased, which means this team will have to chase more runs.

Why DLS method is used in Cricket?

The DLS method is used to decide the result of the cricket match in a rain-affected game. As we know it is used to give a calculated target to the team batting second based on how the Team batting first played. The DLS method is an attempt to achieve fair play in interrupted matches to get into a match conclusion.

Before the DLS method, there was a different method in which the Batting 2nd team would chase the same runs as the Batting 1st team but in this case, the team batting 2nd team has the advantage. Later on new method was introduced in which the Team batting 2nd will get the target by calculating the highest run scored in an over by the Team batting 1st with the average overs they played. But in this case, the Team batting 1st has an advantage. So terminate these kinds of disparity in the game. The DLS Method was introduced and later adopted by ICC in 1999.

FAQ

Que. When was DLS Method is introduced in Cricket?

Ans. DLS method was introduced in 1997 and adopted by ICC in 1999.

Que. Which is the first game in which DLS method is used?

Ans. The first DLS method used in international cricket in the match between Zimbabwe vs England in 1997.

Leave a Comment