What happened at Old Trafford in 2019?
India met New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2019 World Cup at Old Trafford, Manchester, on 9 July. New Zealand won the toss and batted. At 2:01 pm rain stopped play with New Zealand on 211 for 5 after 46.1 overs, Ross Taylor on 67, and 23 balls of their innings left.
The rain did not stop. Overs would start to be lost from about 4:31 pm, and DLS targets for India were worked out and shared while fans waited. Play was finally called off for the day at 6:22 pm, and the match moved to the reserve day.
What DLS targets would India have faced?
If New Zealand had not batted again, India would have chased a revised target in fewer overs. The figures below were tweeted by statistician Mohandas Menon and reported by Indian media on the day. They are not official ICC figures, because no target was ever set. Next to them are the targets from our calculator, with New Zealand's innings ending at 211 for 5 in 46.1 overs.
| India's overs | Reported target | Our calculator |
|---|---|---|
| 46 | 237 | 232 |
| 40 | 223 | 215 |
| 35 | 209 | 199 |
| 30 | 192 | 181 |
| 25 | 172 | 160 |
| 20 | 148 | 137 |
A 20-over chase was the shortest that could still give a result, since Team 2 must face at least 20 overs in a 50-over match. It had a cut-off time of 6:36 pm, and the umpires abandoned play for the day just before it.
Why are our targets lower?
Our calculator gives New Zealand 87.7% of their resources: they lost the last 3.5 overs with 5 wickets in hand, which is worth 12.3%. A 20-over chase with 10 wickets is worth 56.6%, so the par is 211 × 56.6 ÷ 87.7 = 136, and the target 137.
The reported figures are 5 to 12 runs higher, with the gap widest for the shortest chases. They would have come from the Professional Edition, the ICC software used in international matches. Its values are not published, so the gap cannot be traced step by step. What the numbers do show is that the two editions can differ by more than a few runs when Team 1's innings is cut short near the end. For a local match decided by the Standard Edition, our figures are the official ones.
What happened on the reserve day?
The match resumed on 10 July from exactly where it stopped, with no overs lost, so DLS was never needed. New Zealand added 28 more runs to finish on 239 for 8 in 50 overs, and India chased the full 240.
India collapsed to 5 for 3 and then 92 for 6. Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni brought them close, but Dhoni was run out by a direct hit from Martin Guptill and India were all out for 221 in 49.3 overs. New Zealand won by 18 runs. It was Dhoni's last one-day international.
What does our DLS calculator give for this match?
| Overs per side | 50 |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | 211 for 5 when rain stopped play at 46.1 overs; their innings ends there |
| India's overs | 20 (the shortest chase reported that day) |
| G50 | 245 |
| Our result (Standard Edition) | 137 in 20 overs |
| Target reported on the day (not official) | 148 in 20 overs |
| Difference | −11 runs |
The working, step by step:
- Team 1 starts with 50 overs and 10 wickets: 100.0% of resources.
- Team 1 innings ended at 46.1 overs, 5 down, with 3.5 overs left = 12.3%. All of it is lost.
- Team 1 resources, R1 = 87.7%.
- Team 2 starts with 20 overs and 10 wickets: 56.6% of resources.
- Team 2 resources, R2 = 56.6%.
- R2 is not more than R1, so par = 211 × 56.6 ÷ 87.7 = 136.18, rounded down to 136. Target = 136 + 1 = 137.
Open these numbers in the calculator
Our calculator uses the published ICC Standard Edition table. International matches and big franchise leagues use the Professional Edition, which runs on ICC software and is not published, so a gap of a few runs is normal. The famous matches page compares every match side by side.
FAQ
Was DLS used in the 2019 World Cup semi-final?
No. Rain stopped play on the first day, but the match resumed on the reserve day from where it stopped, with no overs lost. New Zealand finished on 239 for 8 and India chased the full 240 in 50 overs.
What would India's DLS target have been in 20 overs?
The figure reported on the day was 148 in 20 overs, if New Zealand had not batted again. Our Standard Edition calculator gives 137. Both are unofficial: no DLS target was ever set because overs were never lost.
By how many runs did New Zealand win the 2019 semi-final?
By 18 runs. India were bowled out for 221 in 49.3 overs. MS Dhoni was run out by Martin Guptill's direct hit in what turned out to be his last one-day international.
Sources
- Wikipedia: 2019 Cricket World Cup, semi-finals
- National Herald: what India will need to chase if New Zealand do not bat again, July 2019
- ICC playing conditions: Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, with the Standard Edition resource table and worked examples (PDF)
- ECB: Duckworth/Lewis/Stern methodology, March 2026 (PDF)