Every run chase comes down to one number: the required run rate, or RRR. It tells the chasing team how many runs per over it must score from this point to reach the target. When the RRR climbs above the current run rate (CRR), the pressure shifts to the batters. When it falls, the bowlers are under pressure. This calculator works out RRR, runs needed, balls left and CRR from four numbers.
How to use the required run rate calculator
- Enter the target, which is normally the first-innings total plus one.
- Enter the chasing side's current score.
- Enter the overs bowled so far in cricket notation (for example 14.3).
- Enter the innings length in overs: 20, 50, or a revised number after rain.
- Read the required run rate, the "X off Y balls" equation and the current run rate.
The required run rate formula
Runs needed = Target − Current score
Balls remaining = Innings length × 6 − Balls bowled
Required run rate = Runs needed ÷ (Balls remaining ÷ 6)
For example, chasing 181 in 20 overs, a team is 102 after 12.2 overs. Runs needed = 79. Balls bowled = 74, so balls remaining = 46. RRR = 79 ÷ 7.667 = 10.30. Its CRR is 102 ÷ 12.333 = 8.27, so it needs to score about two runs an over faster than it has so far.
Real match example
Punjab Kings' last over
- Target
- 191
- Needed from the final over
- 29 off 6 balls
- Required run rate
- 29.00
- Result
- Punjab Kings 184/7, lost by 6 runs
Josh Hazlewood began the over with two dot balls, which left 29 needed from four balls, more than six runs a ball. Shashank Singh hit three sixes and a four from the remaining deliveries, but the chase was already beyond reach.
Real match example
India's chase in the 2011 World Cup final
- Sri Lanka
- 274/6 in 50 overs
- Target
- 275 in 50 overs
- Required rate at the start
- 5.50
- Result
- India 277/4 in 48.2 overs, won by 6 wickets
India finished the chase with 10 balls to spare, MS Dhoni hitting the winning six. A starting RRR of 5.50 was demanding for a World Cup final but very achievable with wickets in hand.
Reading the RRR
- RRR below CRR: the chasing side is ahead of the rate and can afford to play safely.
- RRR roughly equal to CRR: the game is balanced. Wickets in hand usually decide it.
- RRR well above CRR: the batters need to accelerate, which means more risk.
- More than 6 runs per ball needed: the target cannot be reached off the bat alone. Only extras could help.
Wickets matter as much as the rate
An RRR of 10 with eight wickets in hand is very different from the same RRR with two. The required rate tells you the scoring speed needed, not the risk the batters can afford to take. Professional analysts combine runs needed, balls left and wickets in hand into a win probability. For rain-affected chases, the DLS method combines overs and wickets into "resources".
Target, tie and the result
Under the Laws, the side batting second wins by scoring more runs than the side batting first. That is why the target is the first-innings total plus one. If the chasing side finishes level, the match is tied, and many competitions then use a Super Over. Use the target score calculator to set up the chase at the innings break.
Common mistakes
- Dividing by overs as a decimal. 14.3 overs bowled leaves 5.3 overs (33 balls) in a T20, which is 5.5 overs in decimal, not 5.7.
- Using the first-innings total as the target. The target is one more.
- Forgetting revised targets. After rain, use the revised target and overs announced by the match officials.
Track live chases on CricketSky's live scores page, where the required rate updates every ball.
