Where the points actually come from.
Reading the system means three things: understanding which skill the platform rewards in each phase, knowing which role currently has the floor (and ceiling) to clear, and budgeting your credits against ownership so your captain pick is differentiated rather than safe.
The full read.
Batting points — what the run bonus actually rewards
A boundary is worth 4 fantasy points and a six is worth 6 on most platforms. A fifty adds a 4-point bonus, a hundred a 16-point bonus. The strike-rate bonus is where things get interesting — anything above 130 runs per 100 balls in T20s adds a multiplier, anything below 70 hurts you. That makes pinch-hitters on flat decks dangerous, and dashers on slow surfaces expensive. The same batter can score 40 off 22 balls and pick up fewer fantasy points than a batter who scored 25 off 30 with three fours, because the strike-rate bonus compounds with the boundary frequency.
Wicket points and the dot-ball economy
A wicket is worth 25 points on most platforms. A maiden over is worth 4. The economy bonus is the silent killer — bowlers above 9 runs per over get deducted, bowlers below 7 get a multiplier. A 4-wicket haul on a flat deck can score more than a 5-wicket haul on a green one, because the economy bonus compounds across the spell. Powerplay bowlers are rewarded heavily for new-ball wickets; death-overs bowlers are rewarded for dot balls and economy below 6 in the final four. The role you pick determines which scoring line matters.
Fielding points — the under-tracked lever
Catches are worth a flat 8 points, stumpings 12, and run-outs 12 (with a bonus for direct hits). Most platforms also credit 4 points per catch beyond the first in T20 — a third catch in a match adds another 4 points on top of the base 8. Fielding points look small in isolation, but they compound across the XI: an XI with strong fielders averages 6–12 extra fantasy points per match over an XI of pure batters and bowlers.
The under-tracked lever is that some platforms credit boundary-rope saves (4 points per save) and direct-hit run-outs (16 instead of 12). If you play on a platform that does, your XI's fielding profile matters more than the published table suggests.
Captaincy multiplier
Captain's score is multiplied by 2x, vice-captain by 1.5x. Captain choice is the single biggest lever you have on a contest — and the one most teams get wrong by chasing the obvious name rather than the matchup. A captain who scores 35 with the 2× multiplier gives you 70 captain points; the same score without captaincy gives 35. That 35-point swing is larger than the entire bowling points of your second bowler. Read the selection primer for the captaincy-by-ownership framework, and the player roles desk for which roles have the highest ceiling in any given match.
How to read a points table you've never seen before
Every platform publishes its scoring table. The trick is to read it for what it rewards, not for what it lists. A platform that credits dot balls heavily rewards death-overs bowlers over powerplay bowlers. A platform that credits strike-rate bonuses heavily rewards pinch-hitters on flat decks. A platform that weights wicket-taking heavily rewards powerplay bowlers. Reading the points table before each season — even if you only play the same three platforms — is the single most reliable way to update your selection framework without changing platforms.