Gujarat Titans' Rahul Tewatia shakes hands with a match official after defeating Mumbai Indians. AP Photo
Gujarat Titans' Rahul Tewatia shakes hands with a match official after defeating Mumbai Indians. AP Photo
Gujarat Titans' Rahul Tewatia shakes hands with a match official after defeating Mumbai Indians. AP Photo
Gujarat Titans' Rahul Tewatia shakes hands with a match official after defeating Mumbai Indians. AP Photo

DLS method: What is it in cricket and how is it calculated?


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Hardik Pandya missed a shy at the stumps to force a Super Over as Gujarat Titans edged out Mumbai Indians by three wickets from the final ball in a rain-hit IPL clash on Tuesday to top the table.

Gujarat started strongly in their initial chase of 156 with a second-wicket stand of 72 between skipper Shubman Gill, who fell to an inspired Jasprit Bumrah after a rain break, and Jos Buttler at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Bad weather interrupted play twice and after the second delay the victory target was revised to 147 from 19 overs, leaving Gujarat needing 15 from the final six balls.

Rahul Tewatia began with a four off Deepak Chahar and Gerald Coetzee smashed a six on the third ball before holing out on the fifth with only one run required to win.

Rain stopped play for the second time with Gujarat behind the DLS par score at 132-6, but after a long wait achieved a nail-biting victory, with No 9 Arshad Khan stealing a single off the final ball after hitting it to Pandya at mid-off, as the former Gujarat skipper, now Mumbai captain, missed the wicket with his throw from close range.

An explanation of the DLS method and its reason for being used is below.

What is the DLS method?

The DLS method (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) is used to help decide the winning side in an unavoidable situation for the team batting second in limited-overs cricket.

It is a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score for the chasing team during a match interrupted by weather or other factors.

Who invented the Duckworth Lewis method?

British statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis devised the formula and for a long time it was simply referred to as the DL method. Professor Steven Stern became the custodian of the method after the retirement of Duckworth and Lewis. In November 2014, the Duckworth–Lewis method was renamed the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, or DLS method.

When was it first used?

The Duckworth Lewis Method was first used in a match played between Zimbabwe against England in 1996-97, which Zimbabwe won by seven runs. It was formally approved by the International Cricket Council in 1999.

Why is it used?

When overs are lost, setting an adjusted target for the team batting second is not as simple as reducing the run target proportionally to the loss in overs, because a team with 10 wickets in hand and 25 overs to bat can play more aggressively than if they had 10 wickets and a full 50 overs, for example, and can consequently achieve a higher run rate.

The DLS method is an attempt to set a statistically fair target for the second team's innings, which is the same difficulty as the original target. The basic principle is that each team in a limited-overs match has two resources available with which to score runs (overs to play and wickets remaining), and the target is adjusted proportionally to the change in the combination of these two resources.

Difference between par score and target score

Par score is the total that a chasing team should have reached – when they are ‘X’ wickets down – at the time of interruption while the target score is the revised score that a team is required to get after an interruption.

The target score is one fixed number, while the par score changes according to the number of wickets lost. The par scores are calculated before an interruption, while targets are calculated after an interruption.

How is DLS calculated?

Essentially the DLS method factors in each team's 'resources'. Each team starts the match with two 'resources' to use to score as many runs as possible: the number of overs they have to receive; and the number of wickets they have in hand. At any point in any innings, a team's ability to score more runs depends on the combination of these two resources they have left.

The method converts all possible combinations of overs and wickets left into a combined resources remaining percentage figure (with 50 overs and 10 wickets = 100 per cent), and these are all stored in a published table or computer. The target score for the team batting second ('Team 2') can be adjusted up or down from the total the team batting first ('Team 1') achieved using these resource percentages, to reflect the loss of resources to one or both teams when a match is shortened one or more times.

To calculate a target, the formula may simply be expressed as:

Team 2's par score = Team 1's score x Team 2's resources/Team 1's resources.

Still confused?

Watch this ICC explainer:

City's slump

L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1

Key recommendations
  • Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
  • Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
  • Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
  • More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.

Essentials
The flights

Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing. 

LAST 16

SEEDS

Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Valencia, Juventus

PLUS

Real Madrid, Tottenham, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, Chelsea

Notable cricketers and political careers
  • India: Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Gautam Gambhir (rumoured)
  • Pakistan: Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi (rumoured)
  • Sri Lanka: Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan (rumoured)
  • Bangladesh (Mashrafe Mortaza)
What is a black hole?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

 

 

'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

MATCH INFO

Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')

Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')

VERSTAPPEN'S FIRSTS

Youngest F1 driver (17 years 3 days Japan 2014)
Youngest driver to start an F1 race (17 years 166 days – Australia 2015)
Youngest F1 driver to score points (17 years 180 days - Malaysia 2015)
Youngest driver to lead an F1 race (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest driver to set an F1 fastest lap (19 years 44 days – Brazil 2016)
Youngest on F1 podium finish (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest F1 winner (18 years 228 days – Spain 2016)
Youngest multiple F1 race winner (Mexico 2017/18)
Youngest F1 driver to win the same race (Mexico 2017/18)

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes. 

The trip

From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.

Essentials

The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes. 
 

Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes. 


In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes. 
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.

Updated: May 07, 2025, 7:22 AM