T20 cricket has taken the game by storm. On top of that, since the inception of Twenty20 franchise cricket, a lot has changed in the game. The Indian Premier League was a first-of-its-kind T20 competition that brought many new formats or templates to the game of cricket. It gained popularity very soon after hosting its inaugural season in 2008.
With some big names in every team it becomes tougher to get better of the opposition. Sometimes, teams play but, due to one or two losses, can’t make it to the next round. Especially in the IPL, there have been many instances where one team with the same number of points or wins qualifies but the other teams with the same wins or points get kicked out of the competition. That is when the Net Run Rate gets applied.
What is Net Run Rate in Indian Premier League?
To understand how we calculate NRR, we must first understand what NRR is. NRR is the difference between one team scoring runs and then giving them away at what rate. In the term “net run rate,” “net” indicates that difference. However, it might look tough to calculate NRR, and sometimes it looks impossible for fans to understand, but it is relatively easier to check. It can be very easy to calculate NRR for anyone.
How Net Run Rate is calculated for a team in IPL?
As said above, the calculation of the NRR is very simple. The NRR is calculated by adding up all of the runs a side has scored in the number of overs they have played, minus all of the runs the opposition team has scored in the overs they have faced. This formula is used not just in the IPL but also in T20 or ODI tournaments as well.
Net Run Rate = Run Rate For – Run Rate Against
Run Rate For = Total number of runs scored by a team in whole competition / Total number of overs played by that team in entire tournament
Run Rate Against = Total number of runs scored against the team in entire competition / Total number of overs played against that team in tournament
Lets take an example and assume that there is a game between MI and CSK and their scores given below.
First Inning :
Mumbai Indians made 183/4 in 20 overs
The Inning run-rate for MI is 183/20 is 9.15
Second Inning :
Chennai Super Kings chased down the score of 184/2 in 19.2 overs. (19 overs + 2/6 = 19.33 overs)
Run-rate for CSK will be (184/19.33) = 9.51
Net Run Rate
Thus, CSK’s NRR will be (9.51 – 9.15) = + 0.368
MI’s NRR is (9.15 – 9.51) = – 0.368
Important Points in NRR Calculation
If a team get all out before the full quota of the overs to bat then the NRR will be calculated on the full quota of the overs not in the number of overs they got bowled out. Meanwhile, if a team chases down the target before the full quota of the over, then the NRR will be calculated with the number of overs they played (as we did in the above example).