Match maths
Required Run Rate Calculator
Work out the runs an over a chasing side needs from here, and what that means ball by ball.
The opposition total plus one.
Overs and balls, so 34.4 means 34 overs and 4 balls.
Overs and balls, so 34.4 means 34 overs and 4 balls.
Required run rate
6.09
runs per over
Runs needed
71
Balls remaining
70
Runs per ball
1.01
Current run rate
4.70
Beyond the calculator
Crickslab works these numbers out ball by ball while the match is on, so nobody is doing arithmetic in the scorebook.
- Live scoring on any phone
- Averages and strike rates kept up to date
- Live scores your followers can watch
How this was worked out
- 1Runs still needed251 - 180 = 71
- 2Balls still available300 - 230 = 70 balls, which is 11.4 overs
- 3Divide runs needed by overs left71 / 11.6667 = 6.09
How the number is worked out
The formula
Required run rate = runs still needed / overs remaining- runs still needed
- The target minus the current score. The target is the opposition total plus one.
- overs remaining
- Total overs minus overs bowled, converted through balls so part overs are exact.
A target of 251 means 250 exactly is a tie, not a win. This trips up more chases in the last over than any other rule.
A worked example: the chase tightening
Chasing 251 in a 50 over match, a side is 180 for 5 after 38.2 overs.
The captain wants to know the asking rate and whether the current pair can hold it.
- 1Runs still needed251 - 180 = 71
- 2Balls remaining(50 x 6) - (38 x 6 + 2) = 300 - 230 = 70 balls
- 3Overs remaining70 / 6 = 11.667 overs
- 4Divide71 / 11.667 = 6.09 runs an over
The asking rate is 6.09, which is almost exactly a run a ball: 71 needed from 70 balls. That framing is usually more useful to a batter than the rate itself.
Rules and edge cases
The situations that change the answer, and the ones most calculators get wrong.
The target is the opposition total plus one
Chasing a total of 250, the target is 251. Reaching 250 exactly ties the match. Enter the target rather than the opposition score, or every figure here is one run out.
Runs a ball is often the more useful number
A required rate of 6.09 sounds abstract. Seventy one needed from seventy balls is immediately clear to the two batters in the middle. Both are shown here, and in the last ten overs the ball figure is the one that gets called out.
Wickets in hand change what the same rate means
Eight an over with seven wickets standing is a different match from eight an over with two. The required rate takes no account of wickets at all, which is exactly why it should never be read on its own.
In a rain affected match this is not the number that decides it
Once overs have been lost, the figure that settles the result is the DLS par score, not the asking rate. If the chase might be interrupted again, watch par rather than this.
Frequently asked questions
Take the target, subtract the runs scored so far, and divide by the overs remaining. Convert the overs through balls so part overs come out exact.
For captains and clubs
The asking rate, live, for everyone watching
Crickslab publishes the chase as it happens, so the dressing room, the players and the people following from home all see the same numbers at the same time.
See match scoringLast reviewed 17 August 2026. Playing conditions change, so if your competition uses a different rule, its regulations take precedence over anything here.