T20 World Cup: A strong or big team always dominates its opposition. But how often do we see an underdog putting up a great performance to upset the strong opposition? This happens mostly in big tournaments. The T20 World Cup 2022 also started with a major upset when an associate nation, Namibia, stunned the Asia Cup winner, Sri Lanka, in the very first game of the tournament.
5. Zimbabwe vs Australia (2007 T20 WC)
History shows that Australia always enters any big tournament as a favorite. That is why they are the most successful team across all formats of this game. But the inaugural 2007 WT20 in South Africa made them face one of the biggest upsets in their cricket history. It was the fourth game of the tournament against Zimbabwe. The African nation restricted Australia to just 138/9 in their first innings. However, it didn’t look like Zimbabwe could win it. But in the end, they won it with just one ball to spare and five wickets in hand. With this win, they pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the game.
4. Bangladesh vs West Indies (2007 T20 WC)
The first edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa saw many memorable performances. Apart from the Australia-Zimbabwe match, that tournament saw another upset in a match between Bangladesh and West Indies. It was the 5th game of the tournament at Johannesburg, which saw West Indies score 164/8 in 20 overs. It was a competitive target back then in T20 cricket. But what happened next was just unbelievable. Bangladesh went on to chase down the target in 18 overs and made 165/4 to win the game by six wickets. That loss helped Bangladesh to qualify for the next round, and West Indies were knocked out.
3. Netherlands vs England (2009 T20 WC)
Another big upset came in the very first match of the 2009 T20 World Cup. It was the game between England and Netherlands at Lord’s. England had a great start and they added 102 runs for the first wicket. In the end, they made 162/5 in their first innings courtesy of Luke Wright (71 off 49). In reply, Netherlands lost their first two wickets for just 23 runs in the first four overs. But then, they had some good partnerships in the middle overs. Needing six runs off the last over, Netherlands crossed the line off the last ball to win four wickets. They made 163/6 to register an epic upset in the ICC event.
2. Afghanistan vs West Indies (2016 T20 World Cup)
Afghanistan is a tough team in the shorter format. But back in 2015-2016, they were pretty new to the international stage with not many big names in their team. That was the time when they proved their worth in the 2016 T20 World Cup. It was the 30th game of the tournament in Nagpur. Batting first, Afghanistan could only manage 123/7 in their 20 overs, which was a below-par score. No one gave them a chance. But they pulled off a brilliant win. In response, the West Indies couldn’t play freely against the Afghan bowlers and fell short by just six runs. They made 117/8 and Afghanistan celebrated a famous win. In fact, the Caribbean team went on to win the 2016 WT20.
1. Sri Lanka vs Namibia (2022 T20 World Cup)
As said, this T20 World Cup in Australia started with a big upset in the very first match. Sri Lanka took on Namibia in the first game at Simonds Stadium, Geelong. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first. At one stage, Namibia were struggling at 93/6 in 14.2 overs. All the odds were against them. But then, Jan Frylinck (44 off 28) and JJ Smit (31* off 16) gave them a vital finish. Thus, they made 163/7 in their 20 overs. It looked like Sri Lanka would be comfortable to chase. But they had a horrible day with the bat. They got out for 108 in 19 overs to lose the match by 55 runs. With this win, Namibia registered an unpredictable upset by an associate nation.