What is Net Run Rate?

In multi-team one-day international tournaments, NRR or Net Run Rate has gradually become the preferred way for breaking ties. It is a statistical method used in analysing the performance and/or teamwork in cricket. In limited overs league competitions, it is a method that is commonly used to rank teams with equal points. Today’s cricket news is buzzing with people talking about the NRR, especially because of the ongoing IPL season.

Whether you are someone who has started following cricket today or have been following it for years, knowing about NRR definitely going to be interesting. It is something that is often misunderstood but is actually quite easy to understand. In order to understand the latest cricket news related to NRR, here’s more information on the same:

What is NRR?

NRR in a single game is defined as the average runs per over that a team scores minus the average runs per over scored by the opposite team.

How to Calculate NRR?

Suppose there was a match between team X and team Y, and team X scored 200 runs in 20 overs. So, the run rate for team X will be 200 divided by 20, which is 10. Team Y, on the other hand, scored 150 runs in a total of 20 overs. This means, the run rate for team Y will be 7.5. The difference between 10 and 7.5 is 2.5. This is the NRR for the two teams.

With this information, one can establish that team Y is behind team X by 2.5 and has an NRR of -2.5 and team X has an NRR of +2.5. Extremely simple, isn’t it?

However, there are a few other points to keep in mind. If there are multiple games involved, the total number of runs and overs are taken into account and not only the run-rates of an individual game. This means that for the entire tournament, the NRR is calculated by the total number of overs and runs scored by a team v/s the total number of overs and runs that are scored by the opposite team.

Let’s understand the calculation of NRR for a team in the entire tournament by looking at an example. In the 2011 World Cup, India had an NRR of +0.9 after a group of 6 games. Here’s how:

In these 6 games, India scored a total of 1673 runs while playing in a total of 282.3 overs. A total of 1505 runs in 299.3 overs were scored against them. Divide 1673 by 282.3 and you get 5.92. On the other hand, dividing 1505 by 299.3 gives you 5.02.

The difference between 5.92 and 5.02 is +0.9. This is how India ended up with a net run rate of +0.9.

Things to Remember While Calculating NRR

There are certain things to remember for correct NRR calculation. For instance, consider a situation where a team gets all out within 20 overs in the IPL. Now, the whole quota of 20 overs will be used in the NRR calculation. Also, when a team chases a specific target within 20 overs, only the number of overs played is considered in the denominator for NRR calculation.

Learning how to calculate the NRR does not seem difficult now, does it? Today, knowing this cricket term is important to understand certain aspects of the game. Armed with this knowledge, understanding the latest cricket news associated with NRR will not seem like a tedious task anymore.