Rain transformed the England vs Pakistan contest at the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 into a fascinating display of how the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern (DLS) method shapes modern cricket. England, after scoring 133 for 9 in 31 overs, appeared to have set Pakistan a modest but competitive total. However, when play resumed, Pakistan’s target was announced as 113, leaving many puzzled as to why the chase was shorter than England’s score.
The answer lay not in the number of overs alone, but in how England’s innings unfolded before the rain interruption — and how the DLS system accounts for the balance between wickets, overs, and scoring opportunities that teams have at different stages of the game.
England began their innings expecting a 50-over match and adopted a cautious, traditional one-day approach. Their batters focused on building a steady platform rather than attacking early. However, the plan backfired as wickets fell regularly, and they were struggling at 79 for 7 after 25 overs. When the rain arrived, England had already batted through more than half their innings and had lost nearly all their recognized batters.
Once the match was shortened to 31 overs per side, they were left with only six overs to add as many runs as possible. The final burst of 54 runs in those overs gave them a total of 133, but it came after their innings had already been heavily weakened. This meant that England’s eventual score was built in a situation where their scoring potential was already reduced well before the game was cut short.
On the other hand, Pakistan started their chase with a completely fresh outlook. They knew from the beginning that they had 31 overs to bat, with all wickets intact and a clear idea of how to pace their innings. The DLS system took this into account, recognizing that Pakistan were in a much stronger position to make use of their full batting depth compared to England, who had been in deep trouble by the time their innings was halted.
Therefore, the formula adjusted the target to ensure a fair contest, setting Pakistan a revised score of 113. This number wasn’t arbitrary—it reflected the difference in situations faced by both teams. England’s 133 had been made while struggling with limited batting strength, while Pakistan were starting afresh in a shortened game, with far greater attacking freedom.
Pakistan began brightly, reaching 34 for 1 in 6.4 overs, well placed to build momentum before the weather intervened again. As the rain returned, play could not continue, and the match was ultimately abandoned, resulting in no result. Despite the disappointing end, the encounter perfectly illustrated how DLS ensures balance and fairness.
England’s early caution and collapse meant they never truly played with the urgency of a 31-over game, while Pakistan’s innings began with complete clarity of the target and format. The reduced target of 113 was therefore not a mystery of mathematics, but a reflection of match context and conditions—a subtle reminder that in cricket, timing and circumstance can alter everything, even before a ball is bowled after the rain.
(Inputs sourced from Sarang Bhalerao’s post on X)
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