The DLS Method Explained: How Rain-Affected Targets Are Set

By the Live Cricket Zone editorial team · Last reviewed 17 September 2026

When rain interrupts a limited-overs match, the two sides rarely end up with the same number of overs. The Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, universally shortened to DLS, is the way the target is adjusted so that the side batting second faces a fair equivalent of what the first side achieved. It has a reputation for being impenetrable. The underlying idea is simple, and this guide explains it without the mathematics.

The core idea: resources

A batting side has two resources with which to score runs: overs remaining and wickets in hand. Both matter. Ten overs with all ten wickets standing is worth far more than ten overs with one wicket left, because the side with wickets can attack without fear. DLS turns every combination of overs left and wickets lost into a single percentage of the total resources a side has at the start of a full innings, which is defined as 100%. A side that has faced 20 of its 50 overs and lost two wickets has used only some of its resources, perhaps around 30%, because it still has plenty of overs and eight wickets.

The percentages come from a model of how teams actually score, built and periodically recalibrated from thousands of real matches. That is what Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis originally created in the 1990s and what Steven Stern has maintained since 2014, when the method took his name as well. The professional edition used at international level runs as software; the published tables are a simplified version for lower levels.

When the second innings is shortened

This is the common case. Team 1 completes its innings; rain then cuts Team 2's innings short, either before it starts or partway through. Team 2 has fewer resources than Team 1 had, so its target is scaled down in proportion: target = Team 1's score × (Team 2's resources ÷ Team 1's resources), with the result rounded down and one added to make it a winning target rather than a tie. If a side loses wickets before the interruption, its remaining resources are lower than they would have been with wickets in hand, so a side that has collapsed gains less from a rain break than one that has batted well.

Illustrative example. Team 1 scores 250 from a full 50 overs (100% of resources). Team 2 is 90 for 2 after 20 overs when rain takes away 15 overs, leaving it 15 more to bat instead of 30. Suppose the tables say that at the stoppage Team 2 had 60% of its resources left with 30 overs and 8 wickets, and will have 40% left with 15 overs and 8 wickets. It has lost 20% of its resources, so it plays the match with 80% of Team 1's resources. Its target becomes 250 × 0.80 = 200, plus one: 201 from 35 overs. The percentages here are round numbers chosen to show the mechanism; the real tables are more granular.

When the first innings is shortened

If rain cuts Team 1's innings short, Team 1 has been denied resources it was entitled to, and Team 2 may end up with more resources than Team 1 had. The target is then scaled up. Because runs cannot simply be multiplied when the side batting second has more resources, the method adds an allowance based on an average score for the format rather than scaling Team 1's actual total. This is why a side whose innings is curtailed can end up defending a target higher than the score it actually made, which surprises spectators but is fair: Team 1 was batting to a 50-over plan when it lost its last overs.

The par score

During a chase, broadcasters show a DLS par score: the score Team 2 would need to be on, with its current number of wickets lost, to be level with Team 1 if the match were abandoned at that moment. A side ahead of par would win if no more play were possible; a side behind it would lose. The par score rises with every ball and jumps when a wicket falls, because losing a wicket removes resources. If a match is called off, the result is decided by comparing Team 2's score with par: level is a tie, and in most competitions a tie stands as a tie rather than going to a Super Over when DLS has been applied.

Minimum overs for a result

DLS can only produce a result if both sides have faced a minimum number of overs: 20 per side in an ODI and 5 per side in a T20, unless the side batting second has been bowled out or has already passed its target. If the minimum cannot be reached the match is a no-result and, in a tournament, the points are shared. Ground staff and umpires therefore work backwards from the scheduled close to decide how late play can restart.

Common misunderstandings

It is not just proportional to overs. Halving the overs does not halve the target, because wickets in hand are worth a great deal and because a full-length innings involves a cautious start that a shortened one does not need.
The chasing side is not always favoured. A side that has lost wickets cheaply before a break can find its target barely reduced.
Bowlers' over limits change too. In a shortened innings each bowler's maximum is recalculated as one fifth of the new total, so a 35-over ODI innings allows seven overs per bowler.
Net run rate uses the revised figures. In a DLS-affected match the side batting second is credited with the revised target minus one over the revised overs when NRR is calculated. See the net run rate guide.

On a live scorecard a result decided this way is labelled (DLS method), and the revised target and overs are usually shown beneath the result line. If you are following a rain-hit match on this site, the par score is the number to watch.