Men’s T20 World Cup: History, Stats and Records

The shortest format of international cricket is the T20 cricket where 20 overs were bowled by each team. The first Men’s T20 World Cup was played at South Africa in 2007 where India was the inaugural winner. The event was played once every two years. 

Till now 8 events were played where England and West Indies won twice the trophy, while India, Pakistan, Australia and Sri Lanka won once. 

As the tournament came in a gap of alternate years, therefore it was decided that if there will be a ODI World Cup clashing with the T20 World Cup, then the shortest format will be held the year before.  

T20 World Cup year wise scenarios:

2007: 

The first ICC T20 World Cup was held in South Africa in 2007. In this tournament total 12 teams took participate in which India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh, England and Zimbabwe were directly selected as the Test playing nations while Kenya and Scotland were the two teams who came from 2007 ICC World Cricket League Division One as they finished first and second in that tournament. 

Format – 

The format was simple: the 12 teams will be divided into 4 groups and in each group there will be three teams. Top two teams from each group will proceed to the next round. The round-robin format was opted.  

From Group A: South Africa and Bangladesh; From Group B: Australia and England; From Group C: Sri Lanka and New Zealand and From Group D: India and Pakistan made it to the Super 8 round. In Super 8 two groups were created in which 4 teams were there in each group.

Now From Group E: India and New Zealand and From Group F: Pakistan and Australia made it to the Semi Finals of the inaugural T20 World Cup. 

Semi Finals – 

Both the semi finals matches were played on 22nd September 2007. Where the first encounter was between Pakistan and New Zealand while the second one was between India and Australia. 

Semi Final 1 –

Pakistan vs New Zealand

Semi Final 2 –

India vs Australia

Final –

India vs Pakistan

The first final of the inaugural edition was played between India and Pakistan. A high voltage match as the rivalry between them is world famous and that the match goes to the last over where Misbah-ul-Haq missed the chance after S Sreesanth took a fantastic catch in Joginder Sharma’s delivery and India named the inaugural champion.

In that final match, due to the injury of Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan got the chance to play which was his debut match for India. India posted a decent score of 157/5 in 20 overs where Gautam Gambhir played a brilliant knock of 75 runs in 54 balls and Rohit Sharma provided a destructive knock of unbeaten 30 runs in 16 balls. Umar Gul got some healthy nerves as he got 3 wickets in his 4 overs by giving away only 28 runs. 

In the chase, Imran Nazir gave the team a bullet start as he scored 33 runs in 14 balls but didn’t get much support from the other end. Towards the end skipper Misbah-ul-Haq took the match in the last over and after hitting a six in the first ball of the 20th over he got departed in the next ball and the match was concluded there. Irfan Pathan and RP Singh showed great discipline in bowling after getting 3 wickets each of them. Pathan conceded only 16 runs while RP conceded 26 runs in their 4 overs spell respectively.   

2009: 

According to the rule, the T20 World Cup will be played in alternate years, therefore the second edition of the tournament took place in 2009. The whole tournament took place in England. There were 12 teams who participated in this tournament. 

10 teams got the direct entry according to their World ranks but Zimbabwe was pulled out from the list in 2008 due to pressure created by South Africa and England related to political tensions in Zimbabwe. Previously it was two seat reserves for the associate nations but after Zimbabwe backed out it increased to three seats. 

Direct Invited Teams: India, Pakistan, England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh.

Associate Nations: Ireland and Netherlands were the finalists in the T20 World Cup Qualifier 2008 whereas Scotland finished 3rd in the list after defeating Kenya. 

Format – 

The format was simple like in 2007, that the 12 teams were divided into four groups and in each group there will be three teams and the top two teams from each group will advance to the next round. 

From Group A: India and Ireland; From Group B: England and Pakistan; From Group C: Sri Lanka and West Indies and From Group D: South Africa and New Zealand moved forward for the Super 8 round. Like previously in super 8 round, two groups were created and 4 teams were added in each group. 

Then from Group E: South Africa and West Indies and from Group F: Sri Lanka and Pakistan made it to the Semi Finals of the 2009 edition. 

Semi Finals – 

The first semi final was played between South Africa and Pakistan on June 18th while the second semi final was played between Sri Lanka and West Indies. 

Semi Final 1 –

Pakistan vs South Africa

Semi Final 2 –

Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Final –

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka

It was two back to back finals for Pakistan but this time they didn’t make any mistake like the previous one and chased down the target quite easily and registered their name into the 2009 champion. 

Sri Lanka struggled a lot in their batting as they lost wickets at regular intervals due to which the score at one point was 70/6, but Kumar Sangakkara steady knock of unbeaten 64 runs in 52 balls took Sri Lanka to a decent total of 138/6. Angelo Mathews also supported him towards the end as he managed 35 runs in 24 balls. Abdul Razzaq demolished the top order batters after claiming 3 wickets in the powerplay. He gave 20 runs in his 3 overs. 

Since the target was not that big, the green army was not in a rush and got to the target quite easily. In the chase, Shahid Afridi unbeaten knock of 54 runs in 40 balls guided the team to their first T20 victory. 

2010:

Since the tournament was played after every two years but due to the clash of 2011 ODI World Cup, the tournament was held one year before i.e. in 2010. It took place in the West Indies. Total 12 teams participated in the tournament like in the previous two seasons. 

Again the 10 teams were given the direct slots based on their world rankings. While the two teams Afghanistan and Ireland joined the party after playing the finals of the ICC World T20 Qualifier 2010. It was the first time when Afghanistan got the chance to play any ICC tournament. 

The 10 invited teams were – West Indies, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe skipped the 2009 season due to political disturbances. 

Format – 

The format was simple, the 12 teams were divided into four groups and the top two from each group will move to the next round. It was a round-robin format. 

From Group A: Australia and Pakistan, From Group B: New Zealand and Sri Lanka, From Group C: India and South Africa and From Group D: West Indies and England made it to the Super 8 stage. In the Super 8 round, again two groups were created where 4 teams in each group were seen.  

From Group E: England and Pakistan whereas from Group F: Australia and Sri Lanka got the semi finals tickets. 

Semi Finals – 

The first encounter was between England and Sri Lanka on May 13th while the second encounter was played between Australia and Pakistan on May 14th. 

Semi Final 1 – 

England vs Sri Lanka

Semi Final 2 –

Australia vs Pakistan – 

Final – 

Australia vs England

For the first time in the T20 World Cup no Asian teams were seen and also Pakistan missed the hat trick chance to play the final of the T20 World Cup.

After winning the toss, England opted to field first. The decision seems to be right as Aussies lost 4 wickets in just 45 runs. But David Hussey’s patient knock of 59 runs took the pressure off the team a little bit. He was well assisted by Cameron Green who scored 30 runs in 19 balls. Ryan Sidebottom with his 2 wickets in the powerplay throws the Aussies on the back foot. In his 4 overs he gave only 26 runs.

As the target was under control, England slowly and steadily chased down the target and got their first ever ICC trophy. Craig Kieswetter scored his maiden T20 half-century and that came in the correct time where he scored 63 runs in 49 balls. Kevin Pietersen continued his ruthless form in that tournament and in the final he scored 47 runs in 31 balls. 

2012:       

The fourth edition of this tournament was played in Sri Lanka. A total of 12 countries took part in it. It was the first time any Asian country got the hosting rights for the shortest format. 

The top 10 rank holders got the direct slots for the tournament while the two teams came through the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier 2012. Afghanistan and Ireland joined the party from being the finalist of the Qualifier. 

10 teams were – Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe and England. 

Format – 

There were 4 groups in which 3 teams were there in each group. The top 2 teams in each group advance to the next round. The format was a round-robin. 

From Group A: India and England; From Group B: Australia and West Indies; From Group C: South Africa and Sri Lanka: From Group D: Pakistan and New Zealand advanced to the Super 8 round. In the Super 8 round, two groups were created and 4 teams were included in each group.

From Group E: Sri Lanka and West Indies; From Group F: Australia and Pakistan moved to the semi finals stage. 

Semi Finals – 

The first encounter was between Sri Lanka and Pakistan on October 4th  while the second encounter was between West Indies and Australia on October 5th.

Semi Final 1 –

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan

Semi Final 2 –

Australia vs West Indies

Final – 

Sri Lanka vs West Indies

The final was played on October 7th and it was Sri Lanka’s 2nd final while West Indies played their 1st ever final in this shortest format. The Caribbean team registered their first ever tournament victory in this format. Sri Lanka didn’t get the advantage of their home ground. 

After winning the toss, West Indies chose to bowl first. But their decision didn’t go well as they lost two early wickets. Marlon Samuels took the charge of the team and scored a fantastic 78 runs with the bat. He was the lone warrior in that match from the team with little assistance from Darren Sammy (26 runs not out) in the end. Despite Samuels brave knock, the team managed only 137 runs. Ajantha Mendis got the nerves of the Caribbeans after grabbing 4 wickets in his 4 overs by giving away just 12 runs. 

In the chase, Lankans batters performed drastically badly as they struggled to get some easy runs on the board. Mahela Jayawardene was the highest scorer from the side with 33 runs in 36 balls. They only managed 101 runs in their innings. The tight bowling from the Caribbean from the start, makes the Lankans sweat to get runs easily. Sunil Narine bowled fantastically as he got 3 wickets in his 3.4 overs and gave just 9 runs. 

2014:

For the very first time, the number of teams increased from 12 to 16. Ten teams directly got the slot while the remaining 6 came to the party through the 2013 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier. The whole tournament took place in Bangladesh.

Top 10 teams based on their rankings were – Bangladesh (host), India, Pakistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa and Zimbabwe. 

6 new teams were – Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Nepal, UAE, Netherlands. UAE, Nepal and Hong Kong played their first ever ICC tournament in the shortest format.

Format – 

In this season, the format was different from the previous four seasons. This time two rounds were there. The top 8 teams at that time were moved to the round 2 directly and the remaining 2 teams (Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) along with the Qualifiers teams will play the round 1. 

In round 1, there were two groups created in which 4 teams were there in each group. 

From Group A: Bangladesh and from Group B: Netherlands moved to the Super 10 or round 2. These two teams were the topper from their respective groups. In Super 10, there were again two groups in which five teams were in each group.

From Group 1: Sri Lanka and South Africa; From Group 2: India and West Indies moved to the knockout round (Semi Finals). 

Semi Finals – 

Both the semi finals were played on the same day i.e. on April 3rd. The first match was between Sri Lanka and West Indies while the next was between Indian and South Africa. 

Semi Final 1 –

Sri Lanka vs West Indies

Semi Final 2 –

India vs South Africa

Final –

India vs Sri Lanka  

It was Sri Lanka’s back to back final in the T20 World Cup and the 3rd one in total while India played their 2nd final as their first final was the inaugural season. But this time Lankans didn’t choke and got their first trophy of the T20 World Cup. 

Sri Lanka after winning the toss, chooses to bowl first in the final. Virat Kohli was the leading run-scorer from the team as he scored brilliant 77 runs in 58 balls. But he didn’t get any proper support from the other end and as a result the team only managed 130 runs in 20 overs. Rangana Herath, Angelo Mathews and Nuwan Kulsekara got 1 wicket each. 

Lankans didn’t get any hurdle during the chase as the target was under their control. Kumar Sangakkara scored a half-century in the chase and scored unbeaten 52 runs. With Thisara Perera’s unbeaten 23 runs, the team got the par score. Mohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Suresh Raina and Amit Mishra got 1 wicket each. 

2016: 

It was the 6th edition of the tournament which was played in India. Again 16 teams participated in the tournament where top 10 teams got the direct slot while 6 teams got the opportunity through the 2015 ICC World T20 Qualifier. 

The 10 teams were – India (host), Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

The 6 Qualifier teams were – Netherlands, Afghanistan, Oman, Scotland, Ireland and Hong Kong. Oman played his debut tournament after qualifying for the round.   

Format –

The format was the same as the 2014 season. The top 8 teams were moved to the round 2 while the remaining 2 teams (Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, due to lower world rankings) along with the 6 qualifying teams played the round 1 stage.   

In round 1 stage, a total of 8 teams were there and they were divided into two groups and 4 teams in each group were there. 

From Group A: Bangladesh and From Group B: Afghanistan proceed to the Super 10 (round 2). For the first time, Afghanistan played the next round in the ICC T20 World Cup. 

In Super 10, two groups were created in which 5 teams were there in each group. 

From Group 1: West Indies and England and From Group 2: India and New Zealand moved to the semi finals round. 

Semi Finals – 

The first knockout match was played between New Zealand and England on March 30th while the second knockout match was between India and West Indies on March 31st.

Semi Final 1 –

New Zealand vs England

Semi Final 2 –

India vs West Indies

Final – 

West Indies vs England

Both the teams have already won the T20 World Cup once (WI in 2012 and ENG in 2010). So it was pretty clear that the team that won the tournament would make it count 2 and the most in this category. Therefore in a thrilling encounter, the Caribbean team made the most of it and got the trophy to their name.  

After winning the toss, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy chooses to bowl first. The English team struggled a bit as they lost 3 wickets in just 23 runs. But Joe Root stabilized the team innings after scoring 54 runs in 36 balls. He was well supported by Jos Butler from the other end who managed 36 runs and both of them added 61 runs for the 4th wicket. Carlos Brathwaite bowled a fantastic 4 overs spell after conceding only 23 runs and grabbed 3 wickets. Dwayne Bravo also took 3 wickets.

During the chase, West Indies also struggled as they lost 3 wickets in just 11 runs on the board. Marlon Samuels stood there for the team like a pillar and registered a match winning knock of unbeaten 85 runs. In the last over 19 runs were required and Carlos Brathwaite hit 4 sixes in the first four balls of Ben Stokes in the 20th over and clinched the victory from their mouth. David Willey also the nerves of the Caribbeans after taking 3 wickets in his 4 overs by giving away only 20 runs.   

2021:

The seventh edition of the tournament was played after a gap of 5 years. In this 7th edition many ups and downs were witnessed.

According to the rule book, after every two years the T20 World Cup will be held, therefore as a result it must be held in 2018 and the speculation was there that South Africa might be the host of the tournament. But due to many bilateral series in that year, the tournament was dropped.

Now the next was in 2020, which took place in Australia, but due to the sudden COVID-19 pandemic in that year, the tournament was cancelled. And later on it was shifted to India and the plan was it will be played in 2021. But then again the COVID-19 pandemic rose in India and the tournament was again cancelled. Then finally BCCI and ICC together shifted the plan to UAE and Oman and the countries accepted the proposal. The tournament was played little late as it got started on October 17th to November 14th.

Format – 

The format was simple: 10 top teams got the direct invite while 6 teams qualified through the 2019 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier. There were initially two rounds to be played before the knockout stage. 

The top 8 teams directly mark their place into the round 2 while the 2 low ranking teams (Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) played round 1 along with the 6 qualifying teams. 

In round 1, there were 8 teams which were divided into two groups and 4 teams were there in each group.   

From Group A: Sri Lanka and Namibia and from Group B: Bangladesh and Scotland made it to the Super 12 (round 2) of the tournament. In Super 12, two groups were created where 6 teams were included in each group. 

From Group 1: Australia and England while From Group 2: Pakistan and New Zealand made it to the knockout (Semi Finals) stage. 

Semi Finals – 

The first knockout match was between England and New Zealand on November 10th while the second knockout match was between Australia and Pakistan on November 11th. 

Semi Final 1 –

England vs New Zealand

Semi Final 2 –

Australia vs Pakistan

Final –

Australia vs New Zealand

It was Aussies 2nd time (1st in 2010) and Kiwis 1st time in the T20 World Cup final. Australia lost against England in the 2010 edition, therefore it will be the new champion in this format. Australia got the championship trophy and got their name in this format also. 

After winning the toss, Aussies selected to bowl first. Kiwi’s skipper Kane Williamson played a superb knock of 85 runs and got his team to a competitive total. In his 48 balls, he hit 10 fours and 3 sixes. Josh Hazelwood stunned the Kiwis with his fierce bowling as he took 3 wickets in his 4 overs by giving away only 16 runs. 

The chase was quite a simple one as David Warner with his 53 runs gave the team a solid start. Later on it was well carried by Mitchell Marsh who scored brilliant unbeaten 77 runs and took the trophy for his country for the very first time. Trent Boult provided some tough times at the start to the Aussies as he got 2 wickets in his 4 overs by giving away only 18 runs. 

2022: 

The 8th edition of the tournament was played in Australia. The 7th edition was played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic as it got postponed to 2021. Therefore the back to back tournaments were played. 

The top 12 teams who were ranked in the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup were made to the direct invite. Whereas 4 more teams joined the party from Global qualifiers. 

12 teams were – Australia (host), England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Namibia and Scotland. 

4 Global Qualifiers – Ireland, UAE, Netherlands and Zimbabwe. 

Format – 

The format was divided into two rounds before the knockout (Semi Finals) stage. Among the 12 invited teams, 8 of them went to the next round directly whereas the teams ranking from 9 to 12 (2021 ICC T20 World Cup – Sri Lanka, West Indies, Namibia and Scotland) played round 1 along with the other 4 Global Qualifiers teams. 

In round 1, total 8 teams were there who were divided into 2 groups and 4 teams were there in each group. 

From Group A: Sri Lanka and Netherlands and From Group B: Zimbabwe and Ireland marked their place to the next round (Super 12). 

In Super 12, two groups were there in which 6 teams were included in each group. 

From Group 1: New Zealand and England and From Group 2: India and Pakistan made it to the knockout (Semi Finals) stage.

Semi Finals – 

The 1st encounter was between New Zealand and Pakistan on November 9th while the 2nd encounter was between India and England on November 10th.

Semi Final 1 –

New Zealand vs Pakistan

Semi Final 2 –

India vs England

Final – 

England vs Pakistan

As both the teams won one trophy in the T20 World Cup (Pakistan in 2009 and England in 2010), therefore the one who will get the trophy will equal the record of West Indies with most trophies in this format. And this record was created by England who got the thrilling encounter in his favour. 

After winning the toss, the English team chooses to bowl first. A hard hustling was going by the Pakistan batters as the runs were not coming that easily. As a result they only managed 137 runs on the board with Shan Masood (38 runs) being the top score from the side. Sam Curran’s accuracy in his line and length troubled the batters a lot and got 3 wickets in his 4 overs by giving away 12 runs.  

Since the target was not that big, but still Pakistan bowlers tight bowling effort took the match with one over remaining. The English team lost 3 wickets early at 45 runs. Then Ben Stokes’ steady knock of 52 runs in 49 balls took the match into his favour. Haris Rauf got 2 wickets in his 4 overs after conceding 23 runs. 

2024: 

The 9th edition of the tournament will be played in the USA and West Indies. It’s the second time when two countries hosted the tournament (first was in 2021 by UAE and Oman). The total number of teams increased from 16 to 20. Out of 20 teams, two hosting nations got the direct slot, top 8 teams in the 2022 T20 World Cup got the slot for this tournament, 2 teams were selected on the basis of their ICC rankings (9th and 10th while the remaining 8 were selected from the different Qualifiers. 

2 Hosting countries: USA and West Indies

Top 8 countries: India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, England, South Africa, Netherlands and Sri Lanka. 

2 ICC top ranking teams: Afghanistan and Bangladesh.        

Qualifying teams: Ireland, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Canada, Oman, Namibia and Uganda. 

Format – 

20 teams were divided into 4 groups and 5 teams were there in each group. Two teams from each group will make it to the next round. In the next round, two groups will be created in which 4 teams will be added up and the top 2 teams from each group will advance to the knockout round. 

Round 1