T20 World Cup: 3 biggest upsets of all time

The ICC men's T20 World Cup has witnessed a great deal of high-octane action and exciting finishes in its nine editions so far. Though T20 cricket was around before the first iteration of the tournament in 2007 it was this particular edition that exposed the fans of the game to the thrills and spills of the format. Significantly, the sport transformed subsequently in terms of gameplay, administration, and commerce.

The T20 World Cup has a rich history which not only contains tales of big teams dominating but also of the underdogs defying reputations to topple the giants. The nature of the format allows weaker and associate teams to grab on to the mistakes that bigger teams make. As the time to rectify the error is short the team with the upper hand gets a good opportunity to tighten the noose and go for the kill.

Nearly every edition of the tournament has thrown up upsets. We have shortlisted the most shocking and impactful ones which potentially jeopardised the fortunes of the big teams.

Here are the three most memorable upsets witnessed in T20 World Cup history in chronological order -

1. Australia vs Zimbabwe, Cape Town (2007)

The first edition of the tournament was an unknown territory for obvious reasons and this match showed what T20 cricket can be capable of. Australia and Zimbabwe locked horns in just the fourth match of the group stage with the former winning the toss and electing to bat first on a cold September evening at Newlands.

The mighty Australians, to everyone's surprise, faltered in the initial phase as Matthew Hayden (4 off 2), Adam Gilchrist (4 off 6), and captain Ricky Ponting (8 off 15) went back to the hut early leaving their team at 19/3 in four overs. Andrew Symonds (33 off 25), Brad Hodge (35* off 22), and to some extent, Michael Hussey (15 off 23) rebuilt the innings to take the Aussies to a respectable but not-so-competitive 138/9.

Elton Chigumbura and Gary Brent were the chief destroyers from the Zimbabwean side as they picked up three and two wickets respectively. Notably, the Men in Red fielded brilliantly as well to maintain the pressure exerted by the bowlers.

Zimbabwe began the chase with sense and intent as wicketkeeper-batter Brendan Taylor and Vusi Sibanda (23 off 15) formed a quick-fire 31-run partnership. Taylor (60* off 45) remained rock-solid at one end as he received able support from Chamu Chibhabha (15 off 14) and Hamilton Masakadza (27 off 28) to take his team to victory off the penultimate ball of the match. 

Zimbabwe won by five wickets as the Australian bowlers had no answers to their plight. The loss, however, did not impact Australia's chances of progression to the next stage while the victory was not enough for Zimbabwe.

2. South Africa vs Netherlands, Adelaide (2022)

Before the match, South Africa seemed expected to gain two points and advance to the semi-final. However, fate had other plans in store for the Men in Green.

The Proteas won the toss and elected to field first. The bowling attack comprising Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, and Lungi Ngidi proved ineffective in the first half as the Dutch openers built a solid partnership of 58. Though Keshav Maharaj (2/27) brought the proceedings under some control Netherlands never lost their way. A fantastic late assault from Colin Ackermann (41* off 26) took them to 158/4 at the end of the 20 overs.

The target of 159 did not look daunting but was competitive in the given conditions. The Dutch bowlers, buoyed by their batters' efforts, came out confident. Though all the South African 'proper' batters contributed in double digits they could not score at a higher rate and succumbed to pressure at crucial stages to lose their wickets. It was a slow burn of the Proteas innings as Netherlands inspired themselves to a famous 13-run victory.

The loss meant that South Africa had to wait for the result of the Pakistan vs Bangladesh game later in the day. A victory for Pakistan would have meant the end of the campaign for the African nation in the group stage itself and it is what happened. Needless to say, the cricketing world brought out the 'C' word for the South Africans.

3. United States of America vs Pakistan, Dallas (2024)

The USA did the unthinkable on a sunny day in Dallas as this result was arguably the most shocking upset of the tournament history. The Americans won the toss and put the Pakistanis in to bat.

The away team stuttered in the initial phase as they lost three wickets for just 26 runs in the fifth over. Captain Babar Azam (44 off 43) and Shadab Khan (40 off 25) resurrected it with a 72-run partnership, setting a platform for the finishers to do their job well.

A cameo from Shaheen Shah Afridi (23* off 16) at the death took Pakistan to 159/7 which looked like defendable. Nosthush Kenjige and Saurabh Netravalkar were the standout bowlers, picking up three and two wickets respectively.

The American openers got off to a quick start. Captain Monank Patel held one end up and formed important partnerships with fellow opener Steven Taylor (12 off 16) and Andries Gous (35 off 26). It was the 68-run partnership with the latter that made USA believe.

Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar took up the mantle after Patel departed for an innings-defining 50 runs off 38 balls. The duo almost guided their team home but the match tied in regulation time.

The Pakistan bowlers lacked penetration and the story was not different from Mohammad Amir in the Super Over either. The left-arm pacer conceded three wides amounting to seven runs, allowing USA to score a highly competitive 18 runs.

In reply, Netravalkar continued from where he had left off. The left-armer bowled tight lines and lengths along with pace variations to restrict Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed from scoring freely. The software engineer held his nerve to leak 13 runs only.

USA's victory sent shockwaves across the cricketing world and impacted Pakistan's chances of qualifying for the Super Eights. The Men in Green, ultimately, were knocked out of the group stage while the USA made it through.