The T20 World Cup will see its eighth edition take place in 2022. The tournament began in 2007 as the World T20 in South Africa. International Cricket Council, the game’s governing body, seeing the popularity of the shortest format decided to introduce a world tournament only four years after the format was formally introduced and two years after the first-ever T20 international being played. The inaugural edition was a huge success and paved the way for the tournament becoming a pivotal part of ICC’s future fixtures.
Let’s take a look at the winners of each edition of the tournament
2007 – India
An unheralded Team India didn’t even begin as a contender but under MS Dhoni’s astute leadership went on to narrowly defeat Pakistan in a nail-biting final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. The tournament was lit up by Yuvraj Singh hitting six sixes in one over when India played England. Young fast bowlers like RP Singh and Sreesanth along with the experience of Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan proved extremely effective in South African conditions. The win was quite special for the Indian side as it was achieved in the same year in which they suffered a humiliating early exit from the 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean.
2009 – Pakistan
Having finished the inaugural edition as the runners-up, Pakistan did go the distance in the next edition when the tournament was held in England. Umar Gul led the bowling attack admirably well in the absence of the big names and Shahid Afridi, who was the Player of the Tournament in the previous edition, played with great maturity in both the semi-finals and finals. Younis Khan lifting the trophy meant a lot for the country which had seen the cricketing world turn its face away after a terrorist attack happened earlier in the year where several Sri Lankan cricketers were injured.
2010 – England
The 2010 tournament held in the Caribbean saw England breaking its drought of ICC trophies as they finally won an ICC tournament by defeating arch-rivals Australia in the finals. The tournament began on a disappointing note for the English side as they lost to the hosts in their first game and then had to see rain play spoilsport in their next fixture against first-timers Ireland. They then went on to register five consecutive wins including comfortable seven-wicket wins in the semi-final and the final. Paul Collingwood’s team enjoyed the services of an in-form Kevin Pietersen and saw Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom lead the bowling attack to great success.
2012 – West Indies
The team that had been supplying superstars to all the T20 leagues finally won the World T20 in 2012 when it was held in Sri Lanka. Darren Sammy’s side saw seniors like Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels step up while in the bowling department, Ravi Rampaul and Sunil Narine did the trick for West Indies. Samuels played a lone hand in the final to give a semblance of respectability to the West Indies total against the home team but the bowlers ensured that it was enough as West Indies managed to win by 36 runs to lift their first World T20 trophy.
2014 – Sri Lanka
After playing two finals and facing heartbreaks in both, Sri Lanka had a tournament of redemption in 2014 when the World T20 was staged in Bangladesh. In conditions that were similar to those at home, the team clicked as a unit with no single standout performer. Barring England, they defeated every team including defending champions West Indies in the semi-finals and India in the finals, the team that had defeated them in the 2011 50-over World Cup Final. The tournament began with Dinesh Chandimal leading the side but his suspension led to Lasith Malinga replacing him. Eventually, it was Malinga who lifted the trophy as Chandimal failed to make it to the side after the suspension.
2016 – West Indies
Darren Sammy led the West Indian side for the third and the final time in a World T20 and in what proved to be one of the most remarkable finals ever, he ended up lifting the trophy as well on the grand stage of Eden Gardens in India. The team was largely similar to the one that had registered a win in Sri Lanka 4 years ago. West Indies were in red-hot form right from the beginning of the tournament and barring a loss to Afghanistan in an inconsequential match, looked top contender when they lined up against England in the final. However, the chase in the final seemed going nowhere and in the end, 18 runs were required off the final over. Carlos Brathwaite rose to the occasion to hit four humongous sixes off four balls to script a remarkable win for the team.
2021 – Australia
Despite having bossed the ODI format for more than a decade, Australia found the going in T20Is a little difficult. It was evidenced by their loss to Zimbabwe in the inaugural edition of the tournament itself. In 2021 though, they did the unthinkable by winning the tournament in UAE of all places. They didn’t start the tournament as favorites but David Warner’s batting form and their pace attack kept the team going and in the final when they faced-off against New Zealand, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh shone bright and helped Aaron Finch to lift the glittering trophy.
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