The T20 World Cup is set to come with its 10th edition in 2026. The tournament is set to be played in India and Sri Lanka in February and March. Over the years, T20 cricket went on to become one of the most successful formats of the game. With this, the T20 World Cup also gained immense popularity among the fans since its inauguration in 2007. Till now, we have seen six nations lifting the T20 World Cup title in its history of 18 years.
However, there are also some nations who didn’t enter the tournament as favourites to win the tournament but have been impressive on multiple occasions with their performance over the years. There have also been several occasions where a lower ranked team ended up defeating that side who has alway been among the favourites to win. In the following listicle, we will have a look at the top five biggest upsets in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Here are the top 5 Biggest upsets in T20 World Cup History:
Netherlands vs England, 2009
One of the biggest upsets in the T20 World Cup took place in 2009 when Netherlands stunned England at the iconic Lords Cricket Ground on June 5. Batting first, England posted 162/5 in their 20 overs. Luke Wright top scored with 71(49) runs while Ravi Bopara contributed with 46 off 34 balls.
Chasing the winning target, Netherlands were in a tricky situation as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. However, Tom de Grooth took charge of the innings and top scored with 49 runs off 30 balls followed by the 30-run knock by Peter Borren. The match went down to the last over with Netherlands needing seven runs to win. After that, Ryan ten Doeschate held his nerves till the end and scored the winning runs on the last ball as Netherlands registered a famous T20 World Cup win over England.
Afghanistan vs West Indies, 2016
Afghanistan stunned West Indies in their final league game of the 2016 T20 World Cup at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on March 27. West Indies, who went on to win the title that year had a dominant outing in their group with three consecutive. They played their final group match against Afghanistan who were coming after three consecutive losses.
Batting first, Afghanistan could only post 123/7 in their 20 overs. However, the Afghan bowlers displayed a phenomenal performance and didn’t let the Windies chase an easy target of 124 runs. Mohammad Nabi and young Rashid Khan shone with their bowling figures of 2/26 each as Afghanistan registered a famous win over the eventual champions West Indies that year.
Afghanistan vs Australia, 2024
Afghanistan registered another famous T20 World Cup win against the strong Australian side in Kingstown on June 23, 2024. This was a special win for the Afghan side as they now had the hopes to qualify for a World Cup semi-final for the first time while Australia also received a big setback in the qualification in the final four.
Batting first, Afghanistan posted 148/6 in their 20 overs with Rahmanulllah Gurbaz (60 off 49) and Ibrahim Zadran (51 off 48) scoring respective half-centuries. After that, the Afghan bowlers took charge and didn’t let the Australian batters to get near the target by taking regular wickets. Gulbadin Naib took four wickets while Naveen-ul–Haq scalped three as Australia were bowled out for 127 runs. This was the first time that Afghanistan defeated Australia in any format of international cricket
Netherlands vs South Africa, 2022
This turned out to be a big turnaround as Netherlands not only produced an upset, but they also shattered South Africa’s hopes for qualifying in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in 2022. In a group 2 match in Adelaide on November 6, Netherlands posted 158 runs for the loss six wickets in their 20 overs.
Although it was looking like an easy target, the Proteas fumbled with the batting order and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. South Africa could only post 145/8 in their 20 overs and Netherlands produced another upset in their history of the T20 World Cup.
USA vs Pakistan, 2024
United States, who qualified for the T20 World Cup for the first time being the host nations, stunned Pakistan who were the winners in 2009 and ended as the runners-up in the previous edition in 2022 in the 2024 T20 World Cup. USA and Pakistan were a part of a thrilling clash in Dallas on June 6, 2024. In reply to Pakistan’s 159/7, USA also ended up getting 159 runs for the loss of three wickets after the end of their 20 overs and the match proceeded to a super over.
In the super over, Aaron James played all six balls and ended up getting 11 runs with the bat. However, Mohammad Amir conceded seven extras as USA scored 18 runs in their six balls. In reply, Pakistan could only 13 runs in their six balls as USA registered a thrilling win over Pakistan. Eventually also qualified for the super–eight stage and will also be seen playing in the next edition of the T20 World Cup in 2026.
