Batting points breakdown
The batting points grid covers runs, boundaries, milestones, and dismissal penalties. Every category is calibrated against the contest platform's official scoring.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Run scored | +1 pt |
| Boundary (4) | +4 pt |
| Six over the rope | +6 pt |
| Half-century (50 runs) | +4 pt |
| Century (100 runs) | +8 pt |
| Duck (dismissed at 0, batsman/WK) | −2 pt |
| Strike rate > 200 (min 10 balls, T20) | +4 pt |
| Strike rate < 100 (min 10 balls, T20) | −2 pt |
Bowling points breakdown
The bowling points grid covers wickets, maidens, economy bonuses, and milestone bonuses. The grid is calibrated for T20 cricket.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Wicket taken | +25 pt |
| LBW / bowled bonus | +8 pt |
| Maiden over | +4 pt |
| Economy ≤ 5 RPO (min 2 overs) | +6 pt |
| Economy ≥ 10 RPO (min 2 overs) | −6 pt |
| 3-wicket haul | +4 pt |
| 4-wicket haul | +8 pt |
| 5-wicket haul | +16 pt |
Fielding points breakdown
The fielding points grid covers catches, stumpings, and run-outs. Direct-hit run-outs and stumpings earn the highest bonuses.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Catch | +8 pt |
| 3 catches (innings) | +4 pt bonus |
| Stumping | +12 pt |
| Run-out (direct) | +12 pt |
| Run-out (catcher) | +6 pt |
| Run-out (thrower) | +6 pt |
The 2× and 1.5× multipliers
The captain earns 2× the player's fantasy points. The vice-captain earns 1.5×. The captain pick is the single highest-use decision in the squad.
Captain multiplier
Captain's total fantasy points are multiplied by 2. The captain pick is the single highest-use decision in the squad. A 5-point swing in the captain's projection is a 10-point swing in the squad's total.
Vice-captain multiplier
Vice-captain's total fantasy points are multiplied by 1.5. The vice-captain pick is the second-highest-use decision. The lab recommends a balanced vice-captain when the captain pick is high-variance.
Triple-captain (rare contests)
Some contests offer a triple-captain option (3× on one player). The triple-captain is typically locked to a specific role or a specific match phase. The lab covers triple-captain contests in the weekly contest-strategy post.
Boost events
Some contests offer captain-boost events (e.g., 3× on powerplay runs). The boost events are announced in the contest lobby. The lab covers boost events in the weekly contest-strategy post.
Points System questions, answered
The most common questions about points system on PlayExch, with detailed answers.
What is the captain multiplier?
The captain earns 2× the player's fantasy points. The vice-captain earns 1.5×. The captain pick is the single highest-use decision in the squad. A 5-point swing in the captain's projection is a 10-point swing in the squad's total.
What is a duck penalty?
A duck penalty is a −2 point deduction for a batsman or wicketkeeper dismissed at zero runs. Bowlers do not incur duck penalties. The duck penalty is calibrated to discourage high-risk top-order picks.
What is a strike rate bonus?
A strike rate bonus is awarded to batsmen scoring above 200 strike rate (minimum 10 balls) in T20. The bonus is +4 points. A penalty of −2 points applies to batsmen scoring below 100 strike rate.
What is a maiden over?
A maiden over is an over in which no runs are scored. The bowling bonus is +4 points. Maiden overs are rare in T20 cricket but valuable when they happen.
Are points the same across platforms?
The base scoring grid is standardized across major Indian contest platforms. Some platforms offer platform-specific bonuses (e.g., strike rate bonuses, dot-ball bonuses). The lab's projection model accounts for platform-specific bonuses.
See the decision from three angles
These visuals connect the page topic to the evidence, decision and safety checks readers should make before acting.
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The lab's deeper perspective on points-system
Beyond the headline content, the lab's editorial team publishes a longer read on the underlying dynamics, the historical context, and the future direction.
Historical context
The fantasy cricket market has evolved through three phases. Phase 1 (2008-2015) was the early-adopter phase — Dream11 was the dominant operator and the captain-pick methodology was largely gut-driven. Phase 2 (2016-2022) was the data-driven phase — operators introduced live-match data feeds and projection models became more sophisticated. Phase 3 (2023-present) is the transparency phase — readers demand methodology disclosure, hit-rate auditing, and assumption-risk documentation. The lab was founded in 2023 to serve Phase 3 readers.
Underlying dynamics
The underlying dynamics of fantasy cricket are driven by three forces. The first is the ownership distribution — when ownership spikes, the differential edge compresses. The second is the venue read — venue-aware picks outperform venue-blind picks by 11 points in hit rate. The third is the form curve — recent form is a stronger predictor than career average. The lab's research covers all three forces in depth.
Future direction
The fantasy cricket market is moving toward three futures. The first is increased regulation — state gaming authorities are tightening the rules around paid contests. The second is increased transparency — readers demand methodology disclosure and hit-rate auditing. The third is increased automation — AI-driven captain picks and squad optimization are becoming mainstream. The lab is positioned for all three futures.
Lab's editorial position
The lab's editorial position is that fantasy cricket is a research-grade problem. Captain picks are not gut calls — they are data-driven decisions backed by methodology, dataset versioning, and assumption-risk documentation. The lab's editorial principles are published on the owner page. The lab's editorial standards are reviewed quarterly by the editorial board.
The lab's extended perspective
A longer-form walk-through of the underlying dynamics, the data behind the recommendations, and the lab's analytical approach.
Methodology in depth
The lab's methodology is built on a five-stage pipeline. Every published report passes through framing, dataset pull, analysis, assumption-risk documentation, and re-test. The pipeline is published in full on the methodology page. The lab's edge comes from data freshness and analyst expertise, not from a secret formula. Other analysts can re-run the experiments with the published datasets and the published model code. The lab publishes every dataset version and every model version. The lab never quietly updates a dataset after the conclusion lands.
Data sources in depth
The lab pulls data from four primary sources. Match data comes from official tournament data partners, cross-checked against broadcast records. Ownership data comes from public contest-platform feeds, sampled every 30 seconds during contest open windows. Contest result archives come from publicly published leaderboards. Self-collected squad logs come from volunteer readers who submit their picks at lock time. Each source has a published quality score and a published latency benchmark. The lab's data-quality framework is reviewed quarterly by the statistics team.
Reader-safety commitments
The lab's reader-safety commitments cover deposit limits, self-exclusion, play-time alerts, loss trackers, cool-down reminders, and family-controls integration. The lab publishes the safety commitments on the responsible-play page. The lab refuses to partner with operators that do not enforce responsible-play defaults. The lab's reader-safety framework is reviewed annually by an external auditor.
Editorial principles
The lab operates by five public editorial principles. No sponsored picks — no contest operator, brand, or individual can pay the lab to feature a captain pick. Methodology is public — every model's code is published on the methodology page. Misses are published — every Monday morning the lab publishes the previous week's misses alongside the hits. Reader-funded economics — the lab's long-term economics rely on reader subscriptions and contest-entry referrals, not on advertising. Responsible play by default — every contest lobby on the lab's partner platforms shows a responsible-play banner.
Quarterly transparency
Every quarter the lab publishes a transparency report covering methodology changes, hit-rate recalibrations, partner-operator relationships, and revenue mix. The report is published on the 15th of the month following quarter end. The most recent report covers Q1 2026 and shows a 61% captain hit rate over the trailing 90 days, a 48/47/5 revenue split between subscriptions, referrals, and other, and four partner operators. The report is available on the disclosure page.