<p>ODI cricket is the 50-over format where two international teams go head-to-head, one innings each. The whole thing wraps up in about 7-8 hours.</p> <p>Here's the basic setup: each team gets a maximum of 50 overs to bat, and whoever scores more runs takes the win. This is the format you'll see at the<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/cricket/icc-mens-cricket-world-cup"> Cricket World Cup</a> – it sits right in the sweet spot between Test cricket's five-day marathons and<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/cricket/news/t20-world-cup-2026-guide"> T20's rapid-fire three-hour affairs</a>.</p> <p>What makes ODI cricket interesting is the balance it demands. Batters can't just block everything (you'll fall too far behind), but they also can't just swing at everything (you'll collapse in a heap). Bowlers need to adapt their plans as the fielding restrictions change throughout the innings.</p> <p>It's cricket's Goldilocks format – not too long, not too short, just right.</p> <h2>What Is ODI Cricket?</h2> <p>ODI stands for One Day International. Pretty straightforward – it's a limited-overs format played between international teams, with each side batting for exactly 50 overs.</p> <p>Unlike<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/cricket/test-matches"> Test cricket</a> where you can bat for days if you're good enough (or stubborn enough), or T20 where you've only got 20 overs to make things happen, ODI cricket gives you a full match in a single day.</p> <p>The basic flow goes like this: win the toss, decide whether you want to bat or bowl first. The team batting first sets a target. Then the second team chases it down – or tries to, anyway. If all 10 batters get out before the 50 overs are up, that's it, innings over. Otherwise, you bat the full allocation.</p> <p>Both teams field 11 players. One key difference from Test cricket is that no bowler can bowl more than 10 overs. That means you need at least five bowlers who can get through a full match.</p> <p>The scoring is the same as other cricket formats. Batters run between wickets to score runs, or they hit boundaries – four runs if the ball crosses the rope along the ground, six runs if it flies over without bouncing.</p> <p>Getting out works the same way too: bowled, caught, LBW, run out, stumped, or one of the less common dismissals.</p> <p>If you want to dig deeper into the scoring system, check out our guide on<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/cricket/news/cricket-scoring-explained"> cricket scoring explained</a> – it covers wides, no-balls, extras, and all that good stuff.</p> <h2>The History of ODI Cricket</h2> <p>The first ODI basically happened by accident. On 5 January 1971, rain absolutely ruined a Test match between Australia and England at the MCG. After three days of watching the covers go on and off, officials decided to organize a one-off limited-overs game instead. They played 40 eight-ball overs per side. Australia won by five wickets, and a format was born.</p> <p>The 1975 Cricket World Cup in England was where ODI cricket really got its big break. Eight teams played 60-over matches, and suddenly the format had legitimacy.</p> <p>Then Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket came along in 1977 and changed everything. Coloured uniforms, white balls, night matches under lights, innovative camera work – all the things we take for granted now came from that era. Those changes eventually became standard across international cricket.</p> <p>The format settled at 50 overs per side during the 1987 World Cup in India and Pakistan, and it's stayed there ever since. Australia has absolutely dominated with six World Cup wins, including their most recent victory in India in 2023.</p> <h2>Powerplays Explained</h2> <p>Fielding restrictions split an ODI innings into three distinct phases, and they massively impact how the game unfolds.</p> <p>These powerplays control where fielders can stand, which directly affects how easy or hard it is to score runs.</p> <p><strong>First Powerplay (Overs 1-10)</strong>: This is mandatory. Only two fielders can be outside the 30-yard circle. This creates attacking fields with plenty of gaps. It's why teams often score their fastest during these opening overs – the field is up, the ball is new and coming onto the bat nicely. Batters look to cash in while they can.</p> <p><strong>Middle Phase (Overs 11-40)</strong>: The field spreads out – now you can have four fielders outside the circle. This is where the game often gets a bit cagey. Batting teams want to keep the scoreboard ticking over without losing wickets, while bowlers can finally protect the boundaries better. Finding gaps gets harder. Teams need to keep building partnerships and maintain a decent run rate for the final push.</p> <p><strong>Death Overs (Overs 41-50)</strong>: Five fielders can go out now. This is where matches are often won and lost. Batting teams throw caution out the window and go for broke, trying to maximize runs. Bowlers defend boundaries with deep fielders while mixing in yorkers and slower balls. These 10 overs regularly produce 100-plus runs if batters get it right.</p> <h2>Match Duration &amp; Structure</h2> <p>An ODI match takes about 7-8 hours from start to finish. Each innings runs for roughly 3.5 hours, with a 40-minute break in between. Teams cop penalties if they're too slow with their over rates.</p> <p>It's the perfect middle ground – longer than T20's 3-4 hours but nowhere near the daily 6-7 hour commitment Test cricket demands across five days. You get a full match with a result, all done in one day.</p> <h2>DRS &amp; Reviews in ODI Cricket</h2> <p>Each team gets one unsuccessful DRS challenge per innings. When an umpire makes a call, either side has 15 seconds to ask for a review. The third umpire then checks ball-tracking (Hawk-Eye), edge detection (UltraEdge), and replays to see if the decision should be overturned.</p> <p>The "umpire's call" concept comes into play on tight decisions. If ball-tracking shows it's marginal, the original call stands. Successful reviews don't count against your total, so you only lose a review if you get it wrong.</p> <h2>Rain Rules &amp; The DLS Method</h2> <p>When rain shows up, the<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/cricket/news/cricket-dls-method-explained"> Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method</a> calculates revised targets. It's based on two resources: overs remaining and wickets in hand. A team cruising at 150-2 after 30 overs has way more firepower left than a team limping along at 150-7, so DLS accounts for this when recalculating what's needed.</p> <p>Older methods like Average Run Rate didn't capture this properly, which led to some ridiculous outcomes. DLS replaced them in the late 1990s and made rain-affected matches much fairer. Big tournaments often schedule reserve days for knockouts, but in bilateral series, DLS is what determines the result.</p> <h2>ODI vs Test vs T20: Key Differences</h2> <p><strong>Test cricket</strong> goes for five days with unlimited overs and two innings per team. You can bat for as long as you survive, or until you declare. Red ball, potential for draws, the whole nine yards. It's all about patience, technique, and mental strength rather than smashing boundaries.</p> <p><strong>T20 cricket</strong> compresses everything into 20 overs per side and about 3-4 hours total. One innings each with a white ball. Bowlers can bowl a maximum of four overs. First six overs are the powerplay with only two fielders out, then five can spread from overs 7-20. Tied matches go to Super Overs. It's all about big hitting and clever death bowling.</p> <p><strong>ODI cricket</strong> sits between these two. Fifty overs gives you enough time to build a proper innings but not the multi-day grind of Tests. One innings per team, so mistakes hurt but aren't necessarily fatal. The three-phase powerplay structure creates natural rhythm changes. Bowlers get 10 overs each – double T20's limit but nothing like Test cricket's unlimited spell.</p> <p>A key strategic element is the use of the balls. An ODI innings starts with two new white balls, one from each end. After the 34th over, the fielding team must choose one of those two balls to use for the rest of the innings, which helps the ball get older and brings reverse-swing back into play.</p> <p>The strategies reflect these differences. Test cricket lets you wear opponents down over days. T20 gives you no breathing room whatsoever – every over matters. ODI cricket rewards teams who can balance aggression with smart cricket, punishing early collapses but giving you time to recover if you play your cards right.</p>