Net run rate
Net Run Rate (NRR) is a statistical method used in analysing teamwork and/or performance in the sport of cricket. It is the most commonly used method of ranking teams with equal points in limited overs league competitions, analogous to goal difference in association football.
The NRR in a single game is the average runs per over that a team scores, minus the average runs per over that is scored against them. The NRR in a tournament is the average runs per over that a team scores across the whole tournament, minus the average runs per over that is scored against them across the whole tournament. This is the same as the weighted average of the run rates scored in each match (weighted by the lengths of the innings batted compared to the other innings batted), minus the weighted average of the run rates conceded in each match (weighted by the lengths of the innings bowled compared to the other innings bowled). This is not usually the same as the total or average of the NRRs from the individual matches in the tournament.
A positive NRR means a team is scoring faster than its opposition overall, while a negative NRR means a team is scoring slower than the teams it has come up against. It is therefore desirable for the NRR to be as high as possible.
NRR has been criticised as being hard to understand, and 'often misunderstood'. It can also be criticised as not accurately reflecting true margins of victory, as it measures how quickly teams score and concede runs, but takes no account of wickets taken or lost, so a team regarded as having a narrow victory can have a higher NRR than a team regarded as having a comfortable victory. This means a team which progresses in a tournament at the expense of another team, due to a higher NRR, may not have actually had better victories.
A team's run rate (RR), or runs per over (RPO), is the average number of runs scored per over by the whole team in the whole innings (or the whole innings so far), i.e. .
...
Wikipedia