Net Run Rate (NRR) Explained, with a Worked Example
When two teams finish a league with the same points, net run rate usually decides who goes through. Here is what NRR means and how to work it out yourself.
What is net run rate?
Net run rate (NRR) measures how quickly a team scores compared with how quickly its opponents score against it, across a whole tournament. A positive NRR means a team scores faster than it concedes. It is shown in the NRR column of every points table on Alventra Sports.
The formula
NRR = (total runs scored ÷ total overs faced) − (total runs conceded ÷ total overs bowled).
- Totals are added up over every match the team has played in the tournament, not averaged match by match.
- Overs are counted as real fractions: 47.3 overs (47 overs and 3 balls) is 47.5 overs, because 3 balls is half an over.
- If a team is bowled out, it is counted as having faced its full quota of overs (50 in an ODI, 20 in a T20), not the overs it actually lasted.
- Matches with no result are left out of the calculation. In rain-affected matches, the revised overs and target are used.
A worked example
Say a T20 team has played two matches:
- Match 1: it scored 180 in 20 overs and bowled the other side out for 150 in 18 overs.
- Match 2: it scored 140 in 20 overs and its opponent chased 141 in 16.4 overs.
Runs scored: 180 + 140 = 320, in 20 + 20 = 40 overs, a rate of 8.00.
Runs conceded: 150 + 141 = 291. The first opponent was all out, so that innings counts as 20 overs, not 18. The second lasted 16.4 overs, which is 16.667 overs. Total overs bowled: 36.667, a rate of 7.936.
NRR = 8.00 − 7.936 = +0.064.
Why NRR matters at the end of a league
Big wins push NRR up and heavy defeats drag it down, so the last round of a league often turns into a chase for both a win and a margin. Teams sometimes need to reach a target inside a certain number of overs to climb above a rival on NRR.
You can watch this happen in leagues running now, such as the Abu Dhabi T10 and the Nepal Premier League, where the points tables update live.