How to Calculate Strike Rate in Cricket?

Cricket is a sport that has always kept evolving throughout its history. From the slow placed games during the 20th century to the blitz and bashing of bowlers in T20s in the modern era. To put in context, there was a test match where Rahul Dravid took 40 deliveries to score his first run, but will that work now?

The simple answer is no, even though test matches have unlimited balls that you can bat for, the modern game has become so batting focused that you have to play every ball with intent of scoring runs. But don’t get me wrong, there maybe situations when you have to play out balls and draw a test match (read about cricket rules to understand more), just like Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari did against the Australian Team in the 4th test in 2021. 

Credit: NDTV Sports

In the modern game, which is all about taking over bowlers and scoring runs fearlessly, it has become very important to keep track of how quickly and efficiently a batsman can score runs in a situation. We can keep track of this by measuring a quantity, called as strike rate in cricket. 

In this article by ZAP, let’s dive deep into knowing everything about the Strike Rate in Cricket, the importance and how to calculate it.

What is strike rate in cricket?

The scoring rate is a key statistic in the sport of cricket, which is a game of numbers. Actually, it is not only for batsman, but for bowlers as well. Let’s look what means for both. 

Cricket Strike Rate for Batsmen:

Credit: Mid Day

It's a measure of a player's ability to score runs quickly that affects a game's dynamics. A high rate of scoring can be associated to aggressive and impactful bating. 

In mathematical terms, strike rate is the number of runs scored by a batsman per 100 balls faced. It's expressed as a percentage, making it easier to compare players' performances. For instance, a scoring rate of 100 means the batsman scores one run per ball faced.

Test cricket is a format where your batting technique to is put to test and you need to show patience on the pitch before going aggressive and playing big shots. But there are some batsmen who have redefined aggressive batting in the longest format of the game. Players like Virendra Sehwag, Brendon McCullum, Rishabh Pant and the majority of the England Cricket Team’s batters for their Bazball approach attack from the very first delivery. 

ODI and T20 format is all about scoring runs quickly, so batters with a high scoring rate and also a decent batting average can be an asset for the team. 

Note: Batting is not only about going blind and swinging the bat to hit every delivery out of the park, it is a process. Look at the King, Virat Kohli, he has the ability to play deliveries and soak in pressure in the early stages of a match and then can change gears to go all out after the bowlers in the death over. That’s the reason he has maintained a good batting average as well as a decent scoring rate. 

Cricket Strike Rate for Bowlers:

Credit: NDTV

The bowling strike rate is a crucial statistic for evaluating a bowler's performance, particularly in longer formats of the game. It signifies the average number of deliveries a bowler needs to dismiss a specific batsman. So, contrary to a batsman where a higher number is better, for bowlers, a lower balls bowled per wicket is favourable. 

How to Calculate Batting and Bowling Strike Rate in Cricket: Formula

To calculate batting strike rate in cricket, divide the total number of runs scored in an innings by the number of deliveries faced by a batsman. This ratio is then multiplied by 100 and it is called the batting scoring rate.

(Number of runs scored in an innings)/(Number of balls faced) x 100. 

How to calculate bowling strike rate in cricket:

Calculating bowling strike in cricket is simple too, here’s how you do it:

(Balls bowled in an innings) / (Wickets taken)

What is the importance of Strike Rate in Cricket?

Enhancing Team's Total

A high scoring rate in limited-overs formats can significantly boost a team's total. Batsmen who hit big shots while consistently finding the boundary play a pivotal role in modern format of the game. To hit big, you need to have cricket bats that are crafted in a way that power your shots to the boundary with ease. ZAP English Willow Series and Signature Series are built exactly for that. 

Pressure on Bowlers

A batsman who can score more runs in less deliveries can put immense pressure on the opposition's bowlers. This can lead to mistakes, swinging the match in favor of the batting side.

Entertainment Value

Fans love watching players hit big sixes and fours and are drawn to cricket due to its entertainment quotient. Batsmen can provide excitement by hitting boundaries and creating nail-biting finishes by scoring runs quickly and effortlessly. 

Which player has the Highest Strike Rate in Cricket?

Highest career strike rate in ODI:

Rank	Player	Strike Rate	Runs Scored	Balls Faced
1	Andre Russell	130.22	1034	794
2	Glenn Maxwell	124.82	3490	2796
3	Jos Buttler	118.02	4787	4056
4	Lionel Cann	117.06	590	504
5	Shahid Afridi	117.00	8064	6892

Best and Highest Batting strike rate in test:

Credit: BBC

Rank	Player Name	Scoring  Rate	Runs Scored
1	Shahid Afridi	86.97	1716
2	Tim Southee	86.54	1081
3	Virender Sehwag	82.23	8586
4	Adam Gilchrist	81.95	5570
5	Graeme Swann	76.49	1370

Best bowling strike rate in test cricket: 

Name	Bowling Strike Rate	Matches Played	Wickets
Vernon Philander	37.9	18	95
Shane Bond	38.7	18	87
Dale Steyn	41.4	67	340
Waqar Younis	43.4	87	373
Shoaib Akhtar	45.7	46	178

Best and Highest strike rate in T20I Cricket:

Rank	Player Name	Scoring Rate	Runs Scored
1	SK Yadav (IND)	172.70	1841
2	J Neesham (NZ)	161.41	778
3	F Allen (NZ)	160.41	616
4	R Rossouw (SA)	159.79	767
5	T David (AUS)	169.48	740

Highest Strike Rate in IPL:

Credit: India.com

Rank	Player Name	Scoring Rate	Runs Scored
1	Andre Russell (KKR)	174.00	2143
2	Liam Livingstone (PBKS)	165.81	561
3	Sunil Narine (KKR)	165.60	1038
4	Glenn Maxwell (RCB)	159.69	2577
5	Nicholas Pooran (LSG)	159.24	1083

MS Dhoni strike rate in IPL:

Credit: The Quint

MS Dhoni, one of the biggest players in the Indian Premier League is the backbone of the Chennai Super Kings franchise. Known for his lightning-fast wicket-keeping and right-handed batting, he has more than 250 IPL matches under his belt. Dhoni boasts an impressive 5082 runs at an average of 39.09, including 24 half-centuries, and his highest IPL score is an unbeaten 84*. But what truly sets him apart is his power hitting prowess, with 349 fours and 239 sixes to his name. He has an impressive scoring rate of 133 in the world’s biggest t20 league. 

Highest strike rate in death overs in IPL history:

Player	Runs in Death Overs	Innings	Strike Rate	Sixes
AB de Villiers	1421	75	232.56	112
Andre Russell	969	57	203.14	87
Virat Kohli	1045	66	202.51	68
Rohit Sharma	1149	74	196.07	78
MS Dhoni	2632	161	187.33	162

Highest Strike rate in IPL 2023:

Batsman	Team	Strike Rate	Runs
Rashid Khan	GT	216.67	130
Glenn Maxwell	RCB	183.49	400
MS Dhoni	CSK	182.46	104
Suryakumar Yadav	MI	181.14	605
Heinrich Klaasen	SRH	177.08	448

Strike Rates of Some of the best Batsmen:

Virat Kohli Strike Rate in ODI, T20 and IPL:

Credit: T20 World Cup

Virat Kohli is one of the most successful batsmen in the history of cricket, and his run scoring rate is one of the key factors behind his success. He has a different approach to his batting technique in each format of the game, which is reflected in his the speed with which he can score runs. He can accelerate of slow down the pace of his game as per what the situation is. That’s the reason he is called the chase master. 

Format	Strike Rate
ODIs	89.82
T20Is	132.35
IPL	141.46

Rohit Sharma strike rate in T20 and ODIs: 

Rohit Sharma is one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world in T20 cricket, and he is also a very reliable batsman in ODIs. 

Format	Strike Rate
ODIs	90.26
T20Is	139.24
IPL	129.89

Babar Azam strike rate in T20 and ODIs:

Babar Azam, the Pakistan Team captain is one of the best batsman of the modern generation. He has an impressive scoring rate of 89.12 in One day internationals and 128.40 in T20Is. 

KL Rahul strike rate in ODI, T20I and IPL:

KL Rahul is one of the most elegant and destructive batsmen in the world today. He is known for his ability to score runs quickly and consistently in all three formats of the game. He has a scoring rate of 87.65 in ODIs, 139.12 in T20s and 134.42 in IPL. 

Read More: Most Centuries in all formats | Most Runs in all formats | Most Sixes in all formats