Explainer: what is the DLS method and how does it set targets in rain-hit matches?

When rain stops a limited-overs match, the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern (DLS) method is used to set a fair target for the team batting second.

The idea is that a team has two resources: the overs left and the wickets in hand. The method works out how much of these resources each side had, and scales the target so that a team with fewer overs still faces a fair challenge. A team that has lost few wickets can afford to hit harder, so it has more resources than a team that has lost many.

Under DLS, the target after an interruption is usually shown as a revised score and a revised number of overs. The calculation is done by software with agreed tables, and the match officials announce the result.

This is why a team can win a rain-hit game while scoring fewer runs than the other side.