T20 World Cup – A lane down to history

The ICC T20 World Cup – Previously known as ICC World Twenty20 – is an international tournament of the T20 International cricket organized by the governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The tournament has been played six times, with West Indies winning the most with two titles. India, Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka won one each. The seventh edition of T20 World Cup was supposed to be held last year in Australia. However, due to COVID-19 Pandemic put a hold on the tournament, pushing back to 2022.

With the seventh edition of the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India, is just seven months away, we will look at some of its history as well as stats of this tournament.

History

When the T20 cricket was becoming famous, the ICC decided to have a new tournament included in their tournament schedule. They would name it as the “ICC World T20”, their third global tournament after the main event ICC Cricket World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy.

The tournament was held every two years (apart from 2009 and 2010) with the first four editions saw 12 teams competing before the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 2014 and 2016 editions. The tournament was later renamed as “T20 World Cup” by the ICC.

2007 – Inaugural edition

The inaugural edition took place in South Africa, just a few months following the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The tournament had a great moments itself. Zimbabwe defeated Australia in both team’s opener, Brett Lee took the first “hat-trick” in the shortest format, the first “Bowl-out” was played between India and Pakistan and the first T20I century was scored.

One of the most memorable moment was India’s Yuvraj Singh smashing six sixes in the tournament against Stuart Broad of England. It was the first time that happened in the T20 cricket.

The final was played between India and Pakistan. India scored 157-5 on the back of Gautam Gambhir’s 75. Pakistan were limping at 104-7 at the 16th over when chasing the target. Misbah ul-Haq then took Pakistan closer to the target. When 6 were required from four balls, Misbah tried to scoped it away. But he miscued to fine-leg fielder where S Sreesanth takes an easy catch to complete the fairy tale.

Irfan Pathan was the player of the final while Shahid Afridi was awarded as the Player of the Tournament.

2009 – People’s final

The second edition took place in England. Once again, 12 teams participated in the tournament. Three months prior to the tournament, an incident took place. The Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by masked gunmen during their tour of Pakistan. Six players and officials were injured, leaving the world to question whether Pakistan must participate in the tournament. Eventually, Pakistan did participate.

One memorable performance was Umar Gul’s 5-6 against New Zealand in the group stage. It was the first five-wicket haul in the T20I cricket.

The final was held between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s, London. Commentator Ian Bishop called it a “People’s final”, remembering the incident took place three months ago. Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 70-6 with Abdul Razzaq taking three wickets before Kumar Sangakkara took his side to 138 with his unbeaten 64.

The chase was set by Shahid Afridi’s unbeaten 54 as Pakistan chased the total down by eight wickets. The all-rounder was awarded the Man of the Match award while Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dishan was the Player of the Tournament.

2010 – The first world title

The third edition of T20 World Cup was held in West Indies just ten months after the 2009 edition. It was due to the postponed Champions Trophy, which was to be held in West Indies in 2008. The ICC wanted to correct the calendar with the T20 tournament now to be held in every “even” years.

Two memorable moments are well remembered and both of them came in the match between Australia and Pakistan. In the group stage between the sides, Mohammad Amir bowled five-wicket maiden in the tournament. It was the first time that international cricket has seen.

Then in the semi-final, Michael Hussey smashed Saeed Ajmal for 22 runs when 18 were required with three sixes and a four, making it one of the most incredible finishes in cricket.

The final was held between England and Australia. England restricted Australia to 147-6 in their 20 overs. England chased the total down with seven wickets to spare on the back of Craig Keiswetter’s 63. This was England’s first-ever world title in any ICC event.

Keiswetter was the man of the match in the final while Kevin Pieterson was the Player of the Tournament.

2012 – When Caribbean roared

The 2012 T20 World Cup edition was held in Aisa for the very first time as Sri Lanka hosted the tournament. It was the same format that was going for the past four editions.

The final was held between Sri Lanka and West Indies. It was the first time that a host nation reached the final. Sri Lanka were all over West Indies when they were 14-2 in six overs. Marlon Samuels then played one of the best innings in T20 World Cup, scoring 78 to take his team to 137-6.

Sri Lanka could have chased it down. But they failed horribly. They were bowled out for 101 as West Indies won their first T20 World Cup title. Marlon Samuels was easily adjusted as Man of the Match award while Shane Watson was the Player of the Tournament.

2014 – Expansion to 16 teams

The 2014 edition, which was held in Bangladesh, was the first time when the 16 teams participated. The format changed as the first round consisted of 8 teams and 2 teams moved to next round. Second round was the Super 10 stage which consisted of 2 groups of 5 teams each.

The final was held between India and Sri Lanka. India were restricted to 130-4. Sri Lanka chased it down with four overs to spare with Kumar Sangakkara, who was awarded the Man of the Match, scored an unbeaten 54. Virat Kohli was awarded the Player of the Tournament.

2016 – The latest edition

The latest edition was held in India and once again 16 teams participated with the same format. For some, it was considered to be one of the best T20 World Cup tournaments. Apart from hosts India, no other Asian team could qualify for the knock-outs as England, New Zealand and West Indies were at their best.

The final was played between England and West Indies. England were restricted to 155-9. However, they did not give up as they held West Indies to the line. When 19 required off the final over, Carlos Brathwaite hit Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes as West Indies became the first team to win two T20 World Cup titles. Marlon Samuels was once again awarded Man of the Match and Virat Kohli again awarded the Player of the Tournament.

2020 – 20 teams

The ICC announced the expansion of the tournament with 20 teams to participate. The first round consisted of 10 teams instead of 8 and 4 teams moved to the next round. Second round was the Super 12s now, which consisted of 2 groups of 6 teams each. The tournament was supposed to be played in Australia, but was postponed due to COVID-19 Pandemic. Now the T20 World Cup will be held in India in 2021.

Tournament Stats

Now that we have taken a look at their history, here are some quick stats of the tournament.

Most Runs: Mahela Jayawardene (1,061)
Highest individual score: Brendon McCullum 123 vs Bangladesh, 2012
Best batting average: Virat Kohli (86.33)
Best batting strike-rate: Daren Sammy (164.12)
Most fifties: Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle (Both 9)
Most centuries: Chris Gayle (2)

Most Wickets: Shahid Afridi (39)
Best bowling figures: Ajanta Mendis 6-8 vs Zimbabwe, 2012
Best bowling average: Samuel Badree (13.58)
Best bowling strike-rate: Ajanta Mendis (13.4)
Most four-wicket hauls: Saeed Ajmal (3)

Most dismissals as wicket-keeper: MS Dhoni (32)
Most dismissals as fielder: AB de Villiers (23)

The 2021 T20 World Cup in India will begin in October.

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