What is a power Play in cricket match??

Something to add-on is that powerplay was a rule made for the sake..It is not used by teams ..I have not seen any team use it other than australia

power play is nothing but the field restrictions which earlier played for 15 overs but it is played for 20 overs with some new rules.it consists of 3 powerplay having 10, 5 and 5 overs. the first 10 is compelsory and the second and the third power play depends up on the captain of the feilding side when he wants to take the 2 remaining power play with in next 40 overs. in short it is the power of your team to show the opposition.

Powerplays is new concept that has been introduced in one day cricket. Since in one day cricket, batsmen used to blast their way in the first fifteen overs when the fielding restrictions were there and then slow down and play boring crikcet until 40th over and then tried to blast away in last 10 overs if they had wickets in hand. And so everyone used to know what to expect and it was becoming monotonus so ICC introudcued this concept to bring more excitement back in game, for public and players. In powerplays there are fielding restrictions with only couple of players outside 30 yard circle. there is first block of ten overs at start of match which is mandatory, then there are two blocks of five overs each which the bowling team's captain has the discreation to use between after first ten overs so there is more excitement in match. But it's beens een that side bowling tends bowl all 20 overs at start of match unless team batting is on top then might dealy using powerplays. i think it has reduced the role of spinners in one day cricket and made it a more batsman friendly game.

A Powerplay is a new rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international (ODI) cricket. In the past, there was a 15-over period at the start of an innings when only two fielders were allowed outside the 30-yard circle. This meant that attacking batsman were likely to score runs quickly in the first 15 overs, but would become more watchful at the end of the spell. In an effort to keep the game more exciting during the middle overs, this rule was amended to apply only to the first 10 overs of every innings, but also in two blocks of five overs, Powerplays, which will be used at the discretion of the fielding captain. 1. The first block of 10 overs in an innings, where the fielding restrictions are exactly the same as per the old ODI rules, is known as Powerplay 1. That is only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle and two fielders have to be in close catching position. 2. The first block of five overs chosen at the fielding captain's discretion is known as Powerplay 2. The fielding captain has to decide at which point he wishes to implement this rule. He can implement it at any stage in the match, even midway through an over, provided he informs the umpire. Only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle and the two close catchers are not mandatory in this case. 3. The second block of five overs, identical to Powerplay 2 is known as Powerplay 3. 4. The umpire will signal Powerplay by moving his arm in a circular motion. 5. Should the fielding captain choose not to exercise his discretion, the remaining powerplays will automatically commence at the latest available point in the innings (i.e. at the start of the 41st and the 46th overs in an uninterrupted innings). The Powerplay was intended to add to the excitement in ODI cricket. If the batting team has got off to a very quick start, the fielding captain choose to delay Powerplay 2 and 3, and instead spread out the field to stem the flow of runs. Powerplays may then be taken when an attacking batsman is out, or when the run rate has been reduced. Otherwise, all 20 Powerplay overs are likely to be taken at the start of the batting team's innings. The rule was first encountered in the One-day International between England and Australia on 7 July 2005. It is possible that the innovation will be a part of the playing conditions for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.