Mohini Yadav
Rahul Jethalal
A T20 innings is 20 overs per side, and each over normally has six legal balls. That means a full T20 match offers up to 40 overs in total, or 240 legal deliveries, unless a side is dismissed earlier or rain reduces the innings. The same basic idea changes sharply in an ODI, T10, The Hundred and Test cricket.
The short answer to “how much over in t20” is therefore 20 overs for each team. This guide explains the numbers behind each format, including how many overs one bowler can bowl in T20.
Key Takeaways - T20: 20 overs per innings; one bowler can deliver a maximum of four overs. - ODI: 50 overs per innings; one bowler can deliver a maximum of 10 overs. - T10: 10 overs per innings; the Abu Dhabi T10 format caps a bowler at two overs and uses three powerplay overs: the first two are mandatory and the batting side picks one more. - The Hundred is counted as 100 balls per innings, while Test cricket has no fixed number of overs in an innings. - A rain-affected T20I needs five overs for the team batting second and an ODI needs 20 for a result, subject to a result being reached earlier.
T20 overs, bowling limits and the powerplay
In a standard men’s T20 international, each side has one innings of up to 20 overs. The ICC’s current T20I playing conditions cap one bowler at four overs in an innings. In a full match, that makes the familiar maximum 20 overs for the first innings plus 20 for the chase.
The T20I powerplay is the first six overs, overs 1 to 6 inclusive. Only two fielders may be outside the 30-yard fielding circle at the instant of delivery during this phase. If rain cuts an innings to between five and nine overs, the ICC limits a bowler to two overs; for a shortened innings of at least 10 overs, the normal one-fifth calculation is used, with an extra over where the division leaves a remainder.
For a rain-reduced T20I, the team batting second must receive at least five overs for a result, unless the result is achieved sooner.
The Indian Premier League and Women’s Premier League are domestic Twenty20 competitions, so their ordinary innings framework is the T20 model: 20 overs per side, with competition-specific playing conditions. The IPL’s published 2025–27 regulations also say its Impact Player regulation continues. That substitution can change who takes part, but it does not add overs, extend an innings or turn a 20-over game into a longer format.
How many overs are in an ODI?
An ODI gives each team up to 50 overs, so the two innings can total 100 overs. The current ICC men’s ODI conditions limit a bowler to 10 overs in a 50-over innings. A captain must therefore spread the workload across at least five bowlers if the innings runs its full course.
The ODI powerplay is divided into three phases: Powerplay 1 is overs 1–10, Powerplay 2 is overs 11–40 and Powerplay 3 is overs 41–50. The fielding limits change between phases, but the key point for a viewer is that “the ODI powerplay” is not one single block lasting 10 overs.
Rain changes both the total and the powerplay allocation. Under the current ICC conditions, the side batting second must receive at least 20 overs to constitute a match, unless a result arrives earlier. The revised powerplay blocks are then calculated from the shortened innings rather than simply leaving the original 1–10, 11–40 and 41–50 pattern untouched. Follow live scores to see the revised over target displayed during a shortened match.
T10 match overs and powerplay rules
A T10 match normally gives each side 10 overs, or 60 legal balls. The Abu Dhabi T10 format limits a bowler to two overs, so a complete innings needs at least five bowlers. The powerplay runs to three overs in total: overs one and two are a mandatory powerplay, and the batting side chooses one extra floating powerplay over later in the innings (between overs three and nine). Only two fielders may be outside the circle during a powerplay over; at other times up to five can be outside.
T10 is not simply “half a T20” in every detail. Its innings is half as long, but one expensive over consumes 10 per cent of the available overs, compared with 5 per cent in T20. FairPlay’s T10 cricket hub is the natural place to follow matches in this format.
The Hundred uses balls, not traditional overs
The Hundred gives each side 100 balls. It is not scored as 16 overs plus four balls in the usual match language: the competition deliberately counts individual deliveries. The ECB’s rules say bowlers deliver either five or 10 consecutive balls, the fielding side changes ends after 10 balls, and no bowler may deliver more than 20 balls in a match.
The Hundred also has a 25-ball powerplay. During it, only two fielders may be outside the initial 30-yard circle. So the quick comparison is 100 balls per innings, a maximum of 20 balls per bowler and a 25-ball powerplay—not 20 six-ball overs.
Test cricket has no fixed innings-over limit
Test cricket works differently from all the limited-overs formats above. Each team can have up to two innings, and an innings ends through dismissal, declaration, forfeiture or the match situation—not because a fixed number such as 20 or 50 overs has been completed.
There is still a daily pace target. The current ICC men’s Test conditions require play to continue towards a minimum of 90 overs on days other than the last day, subject to the stated playing-time and permitted-overtime rules. That is a minimum overs target for the day, not a cap on one team’s innings. A side can bat through many more than 90 overs across successive days, or declare earlier.
Legal balls, wides, no-balls and free hits
An over is a count of legal deliveries, not simply six attempts by the bowler. Under the MCC Laws and the ICC conditions, a wide or no-ball does not count as one of the six balls in a normal over, so the bowler must send another delivery.
A no-ball in T20I also brings a free hit on the next delivery. If that next delivery is another no-ball or a wide, the free hit carries over again. A free hit changes the dismissal options and fielding restrictions for that delivery; it does not create an extra over or increase the innings allocation. The same legal-ball principle explains why a scorecard can show an over such as 19.2 followed by several deliveries before it becomes 19.3.
If you are learning to read a scorecard, the FairPlay cricket blog explains the wider language of overs, innings and match situations. For today’s fixtures and results, use the cricket results page.
| Format | Overs or balls per innings | Maximum per bowler | Powerplay or fielding phase | Rain-reduced minimum for a result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T20I | 20 overs (120 legal balls) | 4 overs | Overs 1–6 | 5 overs to the team batting second |
| ODI | 50 overs (300 legal balls) | 10 overs | 1–10, 11–40, 41–50 | 20 overs to the team batting second |
| Abu Dhabi T10 | 10 overs (60 legal balls) | 2 overs | Overs 1–2, plus 1 floating over | Competition conditions apply |
| The Hundred | 100 balls | 20 balls | 25 balls | Competition conditions apply |
| Test | No fixed innings limit | No fixed limited-overs cap | No fixed powerplay | Not a limited-overs rain rule |
The comparison is easiest to remember this way: T20 means 20 overs a side; ODI means 50; T10 means 10; The Hundred means 100 balls; Test cricket is measured by time and innings, not a fixed over quota.
Sources: ICC: Playing Conditions · MCC: The Laws of Cricket · ECB: Competition Rules · IPL: Player Regulations 2025–27 · The SportsRush: Abu Dhabi T10 Powerplay rules · Cricket Scoring: T10 Cricket Rules Explained
This piece was written by the FairPlay Editorial Desk with AI assistance, using the published sources above. It was reviewed by Mohini Yadav and Rahul Jethalal of the FairPlay editorial team before publication. To report an error, see our Editorial Policy.
