Follow UsT20 World Cup 2022: The T20 World Cup has seen numerous upsets over the years. There have been some moments in the marquee tournament that entirely changed the complexion of the match. An underdog winning a fixture is something that stays with the fans for quite a long as these are moments that do not happen too often.
Undoubtedly, an upset is not great for everyone involved, however, neutral fans rooting for an underdog to win relish it whenever it happens. In this article, we gonna take a look at the top 5 biggest upsets in T20 World Cup history.
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T20 World Cup 2022: Top 5 Biggest Upsets in T20 World Cup history
#5. Zimbabwe vs Australia | 2007
Australia does not often go in any competition without the 'favorites' tag, that is the reputation the Aussies have built. The inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 saw the first major upset when an African nation, Zimbabwe handed the Aussies a humiliating loss in the first match of their campaign.
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It was a game for cricket fans (other than Australia's) to remember. Australia looked rusty as they posted a low score of 138/9 in their 20 overs. However, it was still expected that the Aussies would fight back and win the game.
But unfortunately for them, Brendan Taylor had other plans. He powered his side to a successful chase with a flamboyant 45-ball 60*. Moreover, pace spearheads such as Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson in the bowling line-up too could not make any difference. The side eventually faced the fate of losing out in the first match.
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#4. Bangladesh vs West Indies | 2007
Another match in the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup that garnered a lot of attention was the fixture between Bangladesh and the West Indies. The two sides were placed in Group A along with South Africa who finished the group on top.
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However, the other side that looked like favorites to qualify for the elimination round was the West Indies. The Windies were reeling from a loss against the Proteas and it made the Bangladesh fixture a must-win match.
The West Indies batted first and posted a competitive total of 164. However, Bangladesh's Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed scored 123 runs between them and pulled off an epic run-chase for the side. What followed was an unceremonious exit for the Windies led by Ramnaresh Sarwan.
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#3. Netherlands vs England | 2009
Hosts England endured a horrendous outing against the Netherlands after the latter pulled off a stunning win at Lord's in the tournament opener to stun them. England was put into bat first. The sublime knocks from Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright helped the side attain a total of 162 in their 20 overs.
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England had got the job half done in the match as favorites. However, a determined Dutch side had certain crucial cards up their sleeve. Valiant knocks by Tom de Grooth, Peter Borren, and Ryan ten Doeschate put the side ahead of England in the match.
Moreover, the Dutch side scored two runs off the final ball which helped them chase down the total. Not just in 2009, but the Dutch replicated the win against England in the T20 World Cup 2014 as well.
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#2. Afghanistan vs West Indies | 2016
The West Indies were involved in yet another shocking defeat which was deemed as the biggest upset of the T20 World Cup 2016 as they lost to Afghanistan. Darren Sammy-led side was already riding high as they had qualified for the knockout round winning all three matches prior to the meeting with Afghanistan.
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Whereas Afghanistan had a contrasting campaign as they had lost all their three matches before the game against the Windies. However, they bid the World T20 campaign adieu by beating the West Indies by six runs in a low-scoring thriller.
Afghanistan posted a chasable target of 124 in 20 overs. The team from the Caribbean was on course to win the fixture with 40 runs required from the last five overs. But in an interesting turn of events, spin exposed the weakness of the West Indies as Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi scalped two wickets each. Meanwhile, that helped Afghanistan register their first in their campaign.
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#1. Sri Lanka vs Namibia | 2022
Sri Lanka was the clear favorite in the First Round of the T20 World Cup 2022 against the African nation Namibia. However, sheer dominance was projected by Namibia as they quite comfortably defended their competitive total of 163.
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Sri Lanka came into the fixture, having won the Asia Cup 2022 by beating Pakistan in the finals. Whereas fans expected Namibia to push the Lankan Lions and give them a run for their money. However, Sri Lanka in their chase lost wickets at regular intervals which made matters worse for them in terms of the net run rate.
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Namibia looks like a strong contender to qualify for the Super 12 after handing the Lankan Lions in what can be termed as one of the biggest upsets of recent times. It will be interesting to see how the Lankan Lions lift themselves from the loss.
N.B: Last Updated on 16/10/2022
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