A par score is the total the chasing side needs to be level at that exact moment. Match it and the game is tied; pass it by one run and they win. It is the number the broadcast graphic shows while rain is falling, and it moves with every ball and every wicket.
The par score and the target are the same calculation one run apart: target = par score + 1. That single run is the whole difference between winning and tying, and it is where most explanations of this go wrong.
The system that produces both is the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method (DLS) — renamed from Duckworth-Lewis when Steven Stern took over the method in 2014.
Par score vs target: the one-run difference
| Team 2’s score at the interruption | Result |
|---|---|
| Above the par score | Team 2 win, by the number of runs they are ahead |
| Exactly the par score | Match tied |
| Below the par score | Team 1 win, by the number of runs Team 2 are short |
The ICC’s own illustration: Team 2 are chasing 201 in a 50-over match and are 105 for 4 after 25 overs when the match is abandoned. The par score at that point is 100. Team 2 are five runs past it, so the result is a win for Team 2 by 5 runs (DLS method).
How DLS actually works: resources, not run rate
DLS does not scale a target by overs. It scales it by run-scoring resources, and a team’s resources depend on two things together:
- how many overs remain, and
- how many wickets are still in hand.
Every combination of the two has a pre-calculated percentage in a published table, expressed as a share of a full 50-over innings. A side with all ten wickets and 50 overs has 100%. The same table is used whatever the match length, so a 40-over innings simply starts below 100%.
This is why losing a wicket while chasing a par score is so expensive: it does not just cost a batter, it cuts the resource percentage, which pushes the par score up. Chasing the number by slogging can move the number away from you.
The formula
Write S for Team 1’s score, R1 for Team 1’s resource percentage and R2 for Team 2’s. The target T is then one of three cases, and the par score is always T − 1.
| Situation | Target |
|---|---|
| Team 2 has fewer resources (R2 < R1) | T = (S × R2 ÷ R1) + 1, decimals dropped before adding the run |
| Resources equal (R2 = R1) | T = S + 1 |
| Team 2 has more resources (R2 > R1) | T = S + (R2 − R1) × G50 ÷ 100 + 1 |
The third case happens when Team 1’s innings was the one cut short, so Team 2 has more to work with than Team 1 had. G50 is the average total in a 50-over innings, set at 245 for matches between Full Members or first-class sides.
Note what is not in there: nothing about who is batting, how good they are, or who is bowling. DLS cannot take the quality of either side into account — it only knows overs and wickets.
A worked example
From the ICC’s methodology document. A 45-over-a-side match. Team 1 bats through its 45 overs uninterrupted and scores 212. Rain then delays Team 2, whose innings is cut to 35 overs.
| Step | Value |
|---|---|
| Team 1’s resources (45 overs, 0 down) | R1 = 95.0% |
| Team 2’s resources (35 overs, 0 down) | R2 = 82.7% |
| Team 1’s score | S = 212 |
| 212 × 82.7 ÷ 95.0 | 184.55, dropped to 184 |
| Par score | 184 |
| Target to win | 185 |
Team 2 need 185 from 35 overs. Finish on 184 and the match is tied; finish on 183 and Team 1 win by one run.
How much play is needed for a par score to count
A par score decides nothing unless the match has lasted long enough to be a match at all. The playing conditions set a floor on how many overs the side batting second must have the chance to face:
| Format | Minimum overs to the side batting second |
|---|---|
| One-Day Internationals | 20 |
| T20 Internationals | 5 |
| T20 World Cup semi-finals and final | 10 |
Short of that, the match is a No Result and no par score applies — unless a side was bowled out sooner, or Team 2 had already won. This is the part most guides state backwards: the 20 and the 5 are not the point at which DLS switches on. DLS applies from the first interruption; those numbers are the point at which a result becomes possible at all.
“Par score” away from the rain
Commentators also use par score loosely, to mean the total a ground and pitch are worth — “175 is about par at this venue”. That reading has nothing to do with DLS. It is a judgement about the surface, the boundary sizes, the weather and the outfield, and two people can reasonably disagree about it. The DLS par score, by contrast, is a single number produced by a published table, and nobody’s opinion changes it.
Par score in cricket: quick answers
What is a par score? The total the chasing side must be level with at that moment to tie the match.
What is the difference between par score and target? One run. The target is the par score plus one.
What happens if a team is exactly on par when rain ends the match? It is a tie.
Does DLS consider how strong the batting side is? No. Only overs remaining and wickets in hand.
How many overs must be bowled for a DLS result? 20 to the side batting second in an ODI, 5 in a T20I, and 10 in a T20 World Cup semi-final or final.
Why does the par score jump when a wicket falls? Wickets are part of the resource percentage, so losing one cuts the resources left and raises the number needed.
Why is it called DLS and not D/L? Steven Stern became the custodian of the method in 2014 and it was renamed Duckworth-Lewis-Stern.
More on the laws behind the formats: Test cricket rules explained, how many overs there are in Test cricket, and our guide to the World Test Championship.
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