T20 Cricket: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Winners (2007-2021)

Twenty20 cricket- the shortened format of cricket has become a fan favourite in a short period. The 20 Over series offers quality cricket matches to watch with continuous moments of thrill and excitement for square four hours or so, compared to longer formats of the game. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is the most awaited international championship of T20 International Cricket. Each tournament consists of 12 to 16 teams and is organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) every two years. All test playing nations participate in the T20 World Cup with a few associate states as well. The inaugural tournament was held in South Africa in 2007. Since then, six World Cup tournaments have taken place wherein the best T20 teams have competed fiercely to make it to the hallowed T20 World Cup Winners List. Scroll down for the list of winners of all the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup tournaments.

List of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Winners and Runner-Ups

Year	Winner	Runner-Up	Number of Teams Participated
2007	India	Pakistan	12
Scorecard	157/5 (20 overs)	152 all out (19.4 overs)
2009	Pakistan	Sri Lanka	12
Scorecard	139/2 (18.4 overs)	138/6 (20 overs)
2010	England	Australia	12
Scorecard	148/3 (17 overs)	147/6 (20 overs)
2012	West Indies	Sri Lanka	12
Scorecard	137/6 (20 overs)	101 all out (18.4 overs)
2014	Sri Lanka	India	16
Scorecard	134/4 (17.5 overs)	130/4 (20 overs)
2016	West Indies	England	16
Scorecard	161/6 (19.4 overs)	155/9 (20 overs)

ICC T20 World Cup Winners List by Year

1. India-2007 ICC World Twenty20 Winner

Host Country: South Africa

Final Venue: Johannesburg       

Runner Up: Pakistan

The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 will always remain special in the history of the T20 world cup as it was the beginning of the Twenty20 International cricket world championship. The tournament was hosted by South Africa, and 12 teams participated in it. In the final, India defeated Pakistan and won the match by 5 runs after scoring 157/5 in 20 overs against 152 all out by Pakistan in the second innings. The tournament would also be remembered for Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s blitzkrieg against England in the Semi-Final as he hit six 6’s in a single over off Stuart Broad and went onto score a blistering half-century in 2 overs (12 balls).

The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 had 27 matches, and the former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi was the Player of the Series. Mathew Hayden of Australia scored a maximum number of runs (265) in the tournament, while most wickets were taken by the Umar Gul (13) of Pakistan.

2. Pakistan -2009 ICC World Twenty20 Champion

Host Country: England

Final Venue: London

Runner Up: Sri Lanka

The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was the 2^nd T20 international Twenty20 Cricket World Cup tournament. Pakistan reached the final of the tournament for a consecutive time and faced off Sri Lanka in the final. This tournament too had 12 teams, and Pakistan won the match by 8 wickets. Pakistan went on to make 139 runs at the loss of 2 wickets in response to Sri Lanka’s made 138 runs at the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. Sri Lankan player Tillakaratne Dilshan made the most runs (317) in the tournament and was also the Player of the series, while Umar Gul from Pakistan took the most number of wickets (13). India’s performance in the tournament failed to live up to the expectations of the fans when they were knocked out in the super 8 stage itself.

3. England -2010 ICC World Twenty20 Winner

Host Country: West Indies

Final Venue: Bridgetown

Runner Up: Australia

In the year 2010, the T20 World Cup trophy was bagged by Team England. The runner up team-

Australia opted to bat first and went on to make 147 runs and the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. The English outdid the Aussies with 148 runs at 3 wickets from just 17 overs and going on to bagging their maiden T20 World Cup trophy by 7 wickets. With his remarkable performance, Kevin Pietersen of England has adjudged the Player of the Series due to his remarkable and consistent performance through the tournament.

Mahela Jayawardene of Sri Lanka scored maximum number of runs (302), while most wickets (14) were taken by Dirk Nannes of Australia. The competition again had 12 teams, and it was the debut season for the Afghanistan team that had finally made its way to one of the ICC’s international cricket tournaments. India continued with its dismal performance and was again ejected off the tournament in the Super 8 stage.

4. West Indies -2012 ICC World Twenty20 Winner

Host: Sri Lanka

Final Venue: Colombo

Runner Up: Sri Lanka

This was the fourth edition of the Twenty 20 World Cup, and team West Indies made its name to the T20 World Cup winners list by scoring 137 runs in 20 overs and Sri Lanka capitulating at a mere 101 runs-all out in 18.4 overs. The ace Australian cricketer – Shane Watson was the highest run-getter in the tournament with 288 runs under his belt. He was also awarded as the Player of the Series title. On the other hand, Ajantha Mendis from Sri Lanka bagged 15 wickets, the highest in the tournament.

Having won the One-day international ICC World Cup just a year ago in 2011, India failed to reprise its dominating performance in the T20 World Cup in 2012. They were knocked out again at the group stage, although on account of poor net run rate. 

5. Sri Lanka- 2014 ICC World Twenty20 Winner

Host Country: Bangladesh

Final Venue: Dhaka

Runner Up: India

After losing the finals of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20, Sri Lanka got its 1^st victory in the 5^th edition of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, defeating India by 6 wickets in the final match. India chose to bat first and made 130 runs in 20 overs, while Sri Lanka scored 134 runs in just 17.5 overs and lifted their maiden trophy.

16 teams competed in the tournament with, Nepal featuring in an ICC international tournament for the first time. During the tournament, 3 players outshone others with their phenomenal performances. Virat Kohli, the current captain of the Indian team and one of the richest cricketer in the world, gave a spectacular performance with the bat scoring 319 runs and earned the Player of the Series title. Imran Tahir from South Africa and Ahsan Malik from The Netherlands scalped 12 wickets each- the highest amongst all the bowlers in the tournament.

6. West Indies- 2016 ICC World Twenty20 Champion

Host Country: India

Final Venue: Kolkata

Runner Up: England

Till date, West Indies is the only team that has become T20 World Cup winners for two times. The sixth edition of ICC World Twenty20 was hosted by India. Also, it was the second tournament that featured 16 teams. The fact that it was the last tournament in the last five years due to the Pandemic, as the tournament was postponed in the year 2020, makes it one to remember. Hopefully, the Pandemic subsides to let the fans enjoy the tournament in 2021.

The tournament will also be remembered for its captivating final and especially the last over wherein West Indies needed 19 runs off 6 deliveries. Carlos Braithwaite of West Indies scored 4 consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes of England to win the match by4 wickets. West Indies chased down England’s score of 155-9 (20 Over) by making 161-6 (19.4 Overs).

Virat Kohli was declared as the man of the series, and Tamim Iqbal scored the highest runs-(295). And, the Afghanistan player -Mohammad Nabi took most of the wickets, i.e. 12 in the tournament 

Interesting Facts Related to ICC T20 World Cup

• Sri Lanka has a record of the maximum total in the Word cup T20 tournament. The team went on to score 260 for 6 wickets against Kenya in the first edition of the game.
• Famous Australian Bowler Brett Lee got the first hat-trick of wickets in the World T20 2007. He took the wickets against team Bangladesh.
• Yuvraj has made the fastest 50 in World Cup T20 2007. He scored 50 runs on 12 balls.
• Sri Lankan spinner – Ajantha Mendis boasts of best bowling figures of 6 wickets off just 8 runs against Zimbabwe in2012.
• Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith have made the record of highest partnership for an opening against South Africa by scoring 145 runs for the very first wicket partnership.
• The former captain of the Indian team- MS Dhoni, till date is the only player who has captained his team in most of the World Cup T20 tournament.
• In the year 2014, Netherland made a record of scoring the lowest runs 39/10. They played against Sri Lanka.
• Sri Lanka has won 21 matches across all the editions of the T20 World Cup tournaments, which is the highest number of wins to date. On the contrary, Bangladesh has lost 15 times.
• Combining all the editions, Mahela Jayawardene has scored the highest runs-1016.
• In World Cup 2014, the present keeper of team India-Virat Kohli made the highest runs in the single edition.
• There have 7 centuries in T20 World Cup, and the exciting fact is that all these centuries are made by 7 different players of different teams.
• The former captain of the Pakistan team- Shahid Afridi, holds a record of scoring the highest ducks in the World T20. The Player got out on zero 5 times during the tournament.
• The ace batsman Chris Gayle has a world record of scoring the highest sixes-43 in all the editions combined in the Twenty 20 World Cup.

Conclusion:

ICC T20 World Cup or ICC World Twenty20 is contested between 12 to 16 teams every 2 years. The international championship of Twenty20 International cricket was started in 2007, in which Team India was the first to make its name in the list of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Winners. The last tournament was supposed to be held in 2020 and Australia was supposed to host it; however, due to the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, the tournament is postponed to 2021, and India would be the host country. Let us hope the fans get to cheer for their favourite team, and the Pandemic does not yet again play spoilsport. Wishing Team India all the best!

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