The method used for many years to adjust the winning target for sides batting second in rain-affected ODIs is known as the 'Run-rate method'.
Its beauty was its simplicity but in the end it was also its downfall.
The premise behind the method focused on the run-rate of the side that batted first. For instance, if Team A scored 250 from their 50 overs then five runs per over would be the asking rate of Team B for the overs to be bowled after a rain delay regardless of their position at play's interruption.
Team B, let's say, were 60-1 after ten overs when the heaven's opened. The resultant delay meant that only 15 overs could be bowled to determine a result, thus Team B's victory target would be recalculated to 125 (25 overs multiplied by five runs per over).
This would clearly be a stroll in the park for Team B as, with nine wickets in hand, they can afford to be carefree in their pursuit of just 65 runs in 15 overs. It's self-evident that, with nine wickets to spare, it is far easier to score 65 runs in 15 overs than it is to score 190 in 40.
Since the 1970s, there had been a growing feeling that this method of run adjustment was too advantageous to the team having to play fewer overs, but as it was so simple to calculate it survived for many years.
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