ICC Powerplay Rules in ODI 2024: The Handy Guide

Without a shadow of a doubt, cricket is one of the most thumping and celebrated sports in the world. It’s a team sport that has been in existence for more than 150 years, and since then there has been no look back for this fascinating game in terms of growth, popularity, revenue, and advancement. ICC is the governing body that carves all the cricket sports rules to ensure the maintenance of integrity and fair and square play in the game.

To make cricket more intriguing and nail-biting in ODI and other formats, ICC introduced ODI powerplay rules that are amended on a timely basis. Before we discuss all the powerplay rules in ODI cricket in depth, it’s vital to understand what a Powerplay is and why it was introduced by ICC?

What is Powerplay in ODI?

Technically, powerplay is a term given to the fielding restrictions that varies with the format of the cricket. In ODIs, powerplay rules for one day matches differ to a great extent. It was first introduced by the International Cricket Council in 2005 as a measure to help batsmen score quick runs and set mammoth targets to change the dynamics of the cricket game.

Without powerplay, fielders are usually spread out on the whole ground to save boundaries and allow batsmen to score only singles and doubles. However, with the induction of Powerplay in ODIs, the paradigm of the game changed completely. Since then, ODI matches have never been the same. A powerplay in ODI cricket comes with a myriad of rules that both the playing teams have to adhere to stringently. It’s high time to reveal all the major ODI powerplay rules and educate our ardent cricket fans more about the powerplay system in cricket.

How Does Powerplay in ODI Work?

Understanding how power play works in ODI cricket is not rocket science. According to ICC, an ODI innings comprises 50 overs. Therefore, an ODI inning is divided into three parts: 1-10 overs, 11-40 overs, and 41-50 overs. Each part of an ODI inning has fielding restrictions. As one part gets overt\, the fielding restriction changes and makes the dynamic of the match more thumping and unpredictable. However, there is a catch; the number of overs in a power play can change if the game is influenced by external conditions like bad weather, bad light, or unwanted events.

In that scenario, the official authorities of the match decide the number of powerplay overs and continue the match accordingly.

Powerplay Rules in ODI Cricket

As per the official guidelines on ODI Powerplay rules by ICC, the powerplay in ODI matches functions as follows:

Powerplay 1: Overs 1-10

In the first 10 overs of an innings in the match, a maximum of two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. This phase of powerplay allows the batting time to get a blitzkrieg start by attacking the opposition bowling unit from all fronts.

Powerplay 2: Overs 11-40

This is undoubtedly the longest phase of power plays out of all phases. In this phase of ODI powerplay rules, the batting team majorly looks to build a rock-solid base by rotating the strike and getting boundaries on loose balls. A maximum of four fielders are allowed to stay outside the 30-yard circle.

Powerplay 3: Overs 41-50

Here comes the most exciting and thrilling phase of the powerplay. In this powerplay phase, a fielding team can set a maximum of 5 fielders outside the 30-yard circle. Usually, the batting unit seeks to accelerate the innings during the final overs and take calculated risks more frequently. The fielding team has major chances to pick crucial wickets in this phase of powerplay.

Highest Runs in The First Powerplay in ODI By a Team

Team New Zealand dominates the chart of the teams with the highest runs in the first powerplay of the ODI with 118 runs scored against Sri Lanka ON 28 December 2015. The above-stated table comprises the top 5 runs scored in ODI Powerplay by a team. Go through the table thoroughly and give a major upgrade to your cricket knowledge on powerplay.

Top 10 Teams With The Highest Runs in The First Powerplay in ODIs World Cup

From the above table, team Australia grabbed the numero uno spot in our list of teams with the highest runs in the first powerplay of World Cup ODIs with a score of 118 runs without any loss of wicket. Then comes the majestic team New Zealand who had scored 116 on the loss of 2 wickets against England in Wellington in 2015. The last team in our list of top 10 teams is also New Zealand who scored 81 runs against Australia in 2015.  From the table, we can conclude that teams Australia, India, and New Zealand love to score swiftly in power plays.

Players With Highest Runs in Powerplay in ODI

The most coveted record of scoring the highest runs in an ODI powerplay belongs to Martin Guptill who totally derailed the team Sri Lanka by scoring thunderous 93 runs on 28 December 2015. He alone scored 93 Runs in the first power play at a run rate of 10 per over which is unbelievable by all means. The remaining four positions are grabbed by Chris Gayle (77), Brendon McCullum ( 77), Kusal Perera (68), and Alex Hales (66) respectively.

Players With the Most Runs in Powerplay in ODI

The Indian batting powerhouse Rohit Sharma claims the top spot in the list of most runs scored in the powerplay in ODIs. He managed to amass 3173 runs in a mere 176 innings which clearly insinuates how effective he has been in the opening position for Team India. The second spot is also owned by Indian batting maestro and blitzkrieg opener Shikhar Dhawan who amassed 3023 runs in 163 innings. In terms of average, Shikhar Dhawan is slightly better than Rohit Sharma in powerplays.