IPL 2019: How Net Run Rate (NRR) is calculated

IPL 2019 has begun, bringing with it a whole set of intriguing circumstances and events. In tournaments such as the IPL, many of the times teams are tied on same points at the end of the season as a result of which the positions in the points table are decided based on which team has a better Net Run Rate or NRR.

During the fag end of the tournament, most teams take calculative risks and try to win games by a bigger margin in order to improve their NRR.

Although NRR might seem a big mathematical figure that is difficult to comprehend, it is actually quite simple. No major statistical tools are required to calculate this figure. It can be easily understood and calculated by anyone.

So how do we calculate NRR?

In the second game between Delhi Capitals and the Mumbai Indians, Delhi scored 213 runs in 20 overs. So Delhi’s run rate for that particular game is 213 divided by 20, or in other words 10.65.

The Mumbai side finished with 176 runs. So 176 across 20 overs amounts to 8.8. The difference between 10.65 and 8.8 is 1.85. This is the Net Run rate between the two sides.

Mumbai lags Delhi by 1.85 and so has an NRR of -1.85 whereas Delhi has an NRR of +1.85. Quite simple, isn’t it?

But there are a few notable points that need to be kept in mind too. In case of multiple games, the total number of runs and overs need to be considered and not individual game run-rates. For the whole tournament, the Net Run Rate is calculated by the total number of overs and runs scored by a team versus the number of overs and runs scored against them.

In simple words:

The standard NRR formula

Let's take an example to illustrate NRR for a team in the whole tournament. We will look at the Indian team in the 2011 edition of the World Cup.

After 6 group games, India ended with an NRR of +0.9. In those 6 games, India scored a total of 1673 runs and played out a total of 282.3 overs. On the other hand, a total of 1505 runs were scored against them in 299.3 overs.

Inserting these numbers in our formula, we get 5.92 in the first part of the equation and 5.02 in the second part. The difference between these two gives us an NRR of +0.9.

That's how simple it is solve this statistical equation. Also, in case a team gets all out within 20 overs in the IPL, the whole quota of 20 overs is considered while calculating the NRR. And when a team chases a certain target within 20 overs, only the number of overs played is used in the denominator to calculate the NRR.

As can be seen, NRR is quite simple to understand. And the fans will be eager to see how the 12th edition of the IPL pans out and how many teams have to depend on this crucial statistical figure to advance to the playoffs.