1. What Par Score Means
The par score is the total the chasing team needs to have reached, right now, to be exactly level with the first innings under DLS. It is calculated from the resources the chasing team has used so far. At any moment in the chase, if the match were abandoned, the team is judged against par: above it, they win; below it, they lose; dead level, the match is tied. Because it depends on overs used and wickets lost, the par score updates on every ball.
2. Par Score vs Target
These two numbers are easy to confuse. The target is the final figure — the runs needed to win over the full revised innings. The par score is a live checkpoint at every point along the way.
- Target: "You need 186 to win off 35 overs." One number, fixed for the rest of the innings.
- Par: "At this exact moment — 20 overs gone, 3 down — you should be on 111." A number that moves with every ball.
Par to be level, plus one run, is the winning position at that instant. If par is 111, then 112 puts you ahead.
3. Reading Ahead or Behind
The graphic usually phrases it as "Team is X runs ahead of / behind the DLS par score." That single line tells you the result if the rain wins:
- Above par → currently winning.
- Below par → currently losing.
- Level → currently tied.
This is why you see batters check the dressing room and start taking risks when clouds gather — they are not chasing the final target any more, they are trying to get above the par line before play can be stopped.
4. Worked Examples
Say Team 1 made 250 in 50 overs. Here is what par looks like for Team 2 at three points in the chase:
| Team 2 position | DLS par (level) | To be winning |
|---|---|---|
| 15 overs, 1 wicket down | 53 | 54 |
| 25 overs, 3 wickets down | 111 | 112 |
| 30 overs, 4 wickets down | — | see note |
So if rain ended the match with Team 2 on 115 after 25 overs for 3, they are 4 runs above the par of 111 — they win. On 108, they are behind and lose. You can generate the par figure for any position on our DLS calculator using its "Par Score Now" mode; the two figures above come straight from it.
5. Losing a Match While Batting
DLS makes it possible to lose a rain-affected match without being bowled out and with overs still to spare. If the covers come on while the chasing team sits below par, the game can be called there and then, and the result stands on that instant's comparison. Teams that treat the par line casually — content to "catch up later" — have lost games they were winning on run rate, because run rate is not what decides an abandoned match. The par score is.
The practical lesson for any captain in a rain-prone game: always know your par score, and stay above it, because you never know which ball will be the last one bowled.