The English statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis developed the Duckworth-Lewis method, also known as the D/L method, to determine target scores in cricket. It was incorporated in 1997 and changed its name to DLS Method in 2014 under the current custodian Steven Stern. The DLS method considers the only two resources in a cricket match: the number of overs left and the number of wickets still in play.
The value of these two resources is calculated as a percentage using evolving mathematical data. However, it does take into account the ‘batting first’ team’s likely aggressive approach to their innings (before the match interruption) if there is a reduction in the number of overs at any point in the match. This system obviously cannot factor in the reputation/ability of the chasing team while calculating revised targets for them.
The DLS target for the chasing team is determined using a formula for at least five overs in a T20 match and twenty overs in an ODI match.
What Does the DLS Method Define as Par Score in Cricket?
The formula is calculated as – Team 2’s par score = Team 1’s score x (Team 2’s resources/Team 1’s resources).
The par score is the target that the chasing team should have reached, if the game hadn’t been stopped for some reason, after falling behind by a certain number of wickets.
As a result, if play cannot continue after a certain number of overs and the team has scored more than this par total, they are deemed to have won the match.
It should be noted that this DLS target changes after almost every other delivery if the match keeps interrupting while the chase is going on. For instance, if a team loses one or two wickets while attempting to maintain the par score, the revised target for the next over will rise because the number of “wickets left” (the recourse) has further decreased.
In order for a match to have a conclusion, the chase should have lasted at least five overs in a T20 match and twenty overs in an ODI match.
