If you are new to cricket, one of the first things you may wonder is, how many overs in cricket? The answer is not always the same because cricket is played in several formats. A Test match can last for five days, while a T20 match is usually completed in a few hours.
The number of overs depends mainly on the format being played. In a T20 international, each team normally gets 20 overs. In an ODI, each side gets 50 overs. Test cricket is different because there is no fixed number of overs for the entire match; teams normally have opportunities to bat for an innings, subject to the match conditions and laws.
An over is one of the basic units used to measure bowling in cricket. Understanding how overs work makes it much easier to follow a scorecard or watch a match.
What Is an Over in Cricket?
An over consists of six legal deliveries bowled by the same bowler from one end of the pitch.
After six legal balls have been completed, the over ends and another bowler delivers the next over from the opposite end.
For example, if a scorecard shows:
10.3 overs
this means that 10 complete overs have been bowled and three legal deliveries of the next over have been completed.
It does not mean 10.3 overs in the decimal sense.
After the sixth ball, the notation changes to the next whole over. So:
- 10.1 = first legal ball of the 11th over
- 10.2 = second legal ball
- 10.3 = third legal ball
- 10.4 = fourth legal ball
- 10.5 = fifth legal ball
- 10.6 = sixth legal ball
- 11.0 = 11 complete overs
This is an important point for beginners.
How Many Overs Are in T20 Cricket?
In a standard T20 match, each team normally has a maximum of 20 overs to score runs.
The name T20 comes from “Twenty20,” referring to the maximum 20 overs available to each side.
A complete T20 match therefore has a maximum of:
20 overs + 20 overs = 40 overs
This assumes both teams use their full allocation and there are no unusual circumstances such as a shortened match.
T20 cricket is designed to be fast and entertaining. Batters often attack from the beginning because they have a limited number of deliveries in which to score.
A team facing 20 overs receives up to:
20 × 6 = 120 legal deliveries
So, under normal conditions, a team has a maximum of 120 legal balls in its innings.
How Many Overs Are in ODI Cricket?
In a One Day International, each team normally receives a maximum of 50 overs.
That means one team can face up to:
50 × 6 = 300 legal deliveries
A full ODI match therefore contains a maximum of:
50 + 50 = 100 overs
Again, this is the standard allocation when the match is not shortened by weather or another interruption.
ODIs sit between T20 and Test cricket in terms of length. Teams have considerably more time than in T20 cricket, allowing them to build an innings more gradually.
A batter might initially focus on rotating the strike before increasing the scoring rate later in the innings.
How Many Overs Are in Test Cricket?
Test cricket works differently from limited-overs formats.
A Test match is normally scheduled for up to five days, and there is no fixed 20- or 50-over allocation for each innings.
Instead, teams generally have two innings each, although the number of innings completed can vary depending on the result and match circumstances.
There is, however, a minimum number of overs that are generally scheduled to be bowled during a full day’s play under normal conditions. The actual number can change because of weather, interruptions, slow over rates, early finishes, or other circumstances.
This is why you will often hear commentators discuss the number of overs remaining during a day of Test cricket.
For example, a team could be 75 overs into its innings on one day and continue batting on the following day.
How Many Overs Are in First-Class Cricket?
First-class cricket is generally played using a multi-day format similar to Test cricket.
There is no standard fixed number of overs for each innings like there is in T20 or ODI cricket.
The number of overs bowled depends on the amount of play possible during the match.
First-class competitions can have their own playing conditions, including rules concerning the scheduled duration, number of days, declarations, follow-ons, and other aspects of the game.
How Many Balls Are in an Over?
A standard over contains six legal balls.
This means six deliveries that count toward the completion of the over.
However, a bowler can actually deliver more than six balls in an over.
Why?
Because certain illegal deliveries do not count as one of the six legal balls.
For example, if a bowler delivers a no-ball, the batting team receives the appropriate penalty and the delivery normally does not count as one of the six legal balls in the over.
The same principle applies to a wide.
Therefore, an over can contain seven, eight, or more actual deliveries if several illegal deliveries occur.
Do Wides and No-Balls Count as Balls in an Over?
Normally, wides and no-balls do not count toward the six legal deliveries required to complete an over.
Suppose a bowler delivers five legal balls and then bowls a wide.
The scorecard will still show five legal balls completed because the wide does not count as the sixth legal delivery.
The bowler must then deliver another legal ball.
This can make an over longer than six actual deliveries.
For example:
In this example, six legal deliveries have eventually been completed, even though eight deliveries were bowled.
What Happens When an Over Is Completed?
At the end of an over, the bowling changes ends.
The bowler who completed the over cannot normally bowl the immediately following over. Another bowler from the fielding team takes over from the opposite end.
The batters also change ends according to the outcome of the final delivery and the Laws of Cricket.
This arrangement means that bowlers alternate ends throughout an innings.
Can One Bowler Bowl All the Overs?
No.
A bowler cannot bowl every over in an innings.
There are restrictions on the number of overs an individual bowler can deliver, particularly in limited-overs cricket.
In a standard ODI, a bowler can bowl a maximum of 10 overs in an uninterrupted 50-over innings.
In a standard T20 match, a bowler can normally deliver a maximum of four overs per innings.
This means teams need several bowlers to complete their innings.
For example, in a T20 match, five bowlers could each bowl four overs, completing the team’s 20-over allocation.
How Many Overs Are in a T20 Powerplay?
The powerplay is a period during a limited-overs innings when fielding restrictions apply.
In a standard T20 international, the powerplay covers the first six overs of the innings.
During this period, the fielding team’s placement of players outside the designated fielding circle is restricted under the playing conditions.
ODIs also have a powerplay at the beginning of the innings, although the exact fielding restrictions and playing conditions differ from T20 cricket.
The powerplay is important because batting teams often try to take advantage of the fielding restrictions by scoring quickly.
What Happens If Rain Reduces the Number of Overs?
Weather can significantly affect the number of overs in a cricket match.
If rain interrupts an ODI or T20 match, officials may reduce the number of overs available to one or both teams.
For example, a match originally scheduled for 50 overs per side might become a 30-over contest after a lengthy delay.
Limited-overs matches have specific procedures for calculating revised targets when interruptions occur. The exact method depends on the competition and playing conditions.
This is why a team may sometimes chase a target in a match that has fewer overs than originally scheduled.
How Many Overs Are in a Super Over?
A Super Over is used in certain limited-overs matches to determine a winner when the scores are tied after the scheduled innings.
Each team normally faces one over, meaning up to six legal deliveries.
The team scoring more runs in the Super Over wins, subject to the competition’s applicable playing conditions.
A Super Over is therefore much shorter than a normal innings.
It gives both teams a small number of deliveries to settle a tied match.
Cricket Overs by Format
Here is a simple comparison:
| Cricket Format | Overs Per Team | Maximum Legal Balls Per Team |
|---|---|---|
| T20 | 20 | 120 |
| ODI | 50 | 300 |
| Test | No fixed innings limit | No fixed total |
| First-class | No fixed innings limit | No fixed total |
| super over | 1 | 6 |
The figures for T20 and ODI represent the normal maximum allocation. Actual overs can be lower if a team is dismissed, a match is shortened, or another applicable playing condition changes the allocation.
Why Are Overs Important in Cricket?
Overs help everyone understand how much of an innings has been completed.
For a batting team, the number of overs remaining indicates how much time it has to score runs.
For the bowling team, overs help manage bowlers and plan the innings.
For example, in a T20 match, a team with 10 overs remaining still has up to 60 legal deliveries available. In an ODI, 10 overs remaining means up to 60 legal deliveries as well, but the strategic situation can be very different because the teams have already played 40 overs.
Overs are also used when calculating important statistics such as run rate and bowling figures.
How Is Run Rate Calculated From Overs?
Run rate shows how quickly a team is scoring.
The basic formula is:
Run Rate = Runs Scored ÷ Overs Completed
For example, if a team has scored 150 runs after 20 overs:
150 ÷ 20 = 7.5 runs per over
The team is therefore scoring at an average rate of 7.5 runs per over.
In limited-overs cricket, run rate can be particularly important when teams are chasing a target.
Final Thoughts
So, how many overs are in cricket? It depends on the format.
A T20 team normally receives 20 overs, while an ODI team receives 50 overs. Test and first-class cricket do not use a fixed number of overs for each innings because they are played over multiple days.
Remember that one over consists of six legal deliveries. Wides and no-balls normally do not count toward those six legal deliveries, which means an over can contain more than six actual deliveries.
Once you understand overs, balls, powerplays, and over limits, cricket scorecards become much easier to read. Whether you are watching a fast-paced T20 match or a five-day Test, the over remains one of the simplest ways to understand how the game is progressing.
