DLS Par Score in Cricket Explained

What Is the Par Score?

The par score in DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) is the score the second batting team needs at any given point in their innings to be level with the first team's 'equivalent' scoring position, accounting for the overs and wickets remaining. If a team is above the par score when rain interrupts play, they are winning; if they are below it, they are losing. If the match cannot resume, the team that was above par at the time of abandonment wins by the number of runs they were ahead.

How Par Is Calculated

The DLS method uses a published table of 'resource percentages' that assigns a percentage of a team's 'resources' (combination of overs and wickets remaining) to every possible match state. When overs are lost, the target is recalculated by comparing the resources available to the team that batted first with those available to the team batting second. The par score at any point is the score the chasing team would have under the revised target calculation.

Why Par Scores Seem Counterintuitive

Par scores can appear unfair because they are not simple linear reductions of the original target. Losing a wicket significantly reduces the chasing team's resources — more so in the DLS model than linear thinking would suggest. A team at 100/1 chasing 250 may be 'above par'; the same team at 100/5 may be well below par, even with the same score, because they have lost the wickets that would have powered their innings through the back end.

Controversies

The DLS method has attracted controversy in high-profile matches. The 2019 Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand — played across two days with significant weather interruption — produced multiple par-score recalculations that confused spectators and prompted a wide debate about whether the method truly replicates what would have happened without rain. Critics argue the model disadvantages teams that lose overs during batting power-plays.