The 2026 T20 World Cup has seen Zimbabwe defeat Australia, and we also saw a couple of close finishes. Nepal came very close to defeating England, the USA threatened India, the Netherlands should have won against Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and South Africa played a humdinger of a game, which South Africa won in the second Super Over.
We have seen plenty of upsets in the T20 World Cup since its inception in 2007. Let's revisit the top 10 Upsets of all time in T20 World Cups.
1: Zimbabwe beat Australia by 5 wickets (2007 T20 World Cup)
The first biggest surprise came in the opening edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 when Zimbabwe defeated the ODI Champions Australia by 5 wickets in Cape Town. Australia opted to bat first after winning the toss and were reduced to 19 for 3. Andrew Symonds’ 33 and Brad Hodge’s 35 helped Australia reach 138 in their 20 overs. Elton Chiqumbura and Gary Brent were the pick of the bowlers as they picked up 3 and 2 wickets respectively. In reply, 21-year-old Brendan Taylor scored an unbeaten 60 in just 45 balls and played a wonderful knock to take the African nation home in the final over and spring a surprise over the Australians.
2: Netherlands beat England by 4 wickets (2009 T20 World Cup)
England’s rut against the European Nations in T20 World Cups started way back in 2009 when they went down to the Netherlands at Lord’s. After winning the toss, the Netherlands put England to bat. Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara gave the hosts a terrific start as they stitched a 102-run stand for the first wicket. Bopara was dismissed for 46, and England suffered a mini-collapse as they were reduced to 144 for 4 by the 16th over, with Wright being dismissed for 71. England eventually finished with 162 in their 20 overs. In reply, Tom de Grooth, Ryan ten Doeschate, and Peter Borren led the charge, scoring 49, 22, and 30, respectively. The Dutch needed seven to win in the final over and then needed two in one ball. Ten Doeschate and Edgar Schiferli got them over the line to create an upset in the first match of the 2009 T20 World Cup.
3: The Netherlands beat England by 45 runs (2014 T20 World Cup)
The Netherlands had a bit of a habit of defeating England in T20 World Cups, and in 2014, it was no different. Playing in Chattogram, Stephan Myburgh and Wesley Barresi helped the Dutch score 133 in their 20 overs, but it did not look enough. The Netherlands had other plans, though, as their bowlers, especially Mudassar Bukhari and Logan Van Beek, took three wickets each. The Netherlands bowled England, who had the likes of Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, and Eoin Morgan in their ranks, out for just 88, winning by 45 runs.
4: Afghanistan beat West Indies by 6 runs (2016 T20 World Cup)
The West Indies were stunned by Afghanistan in their T20 World Cup 2016 clash in Nagpur. After winning the toss, West Indies did a tremendous job with the ball, reducing Afghanistan to just 123 in their 20 overs. Samuel Badree picked up three wickets while Andre Russell picked up two wickets. But Afghanistan fought back hard on a sluggish Nagpur wicket. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi picked up two wickets each, while Amir Hamza, Hamid Hassan, and Gulbadin Naib took one each to reduce the West Indies to 117, eventually winning by 6 runs.
5: Namibia beat Sri Lanka by 55 runs (2022 T20 World Cup)
The 2022 T20 World Cup saw plenty of upsets, and the first one was inflicted on Sri Lanka by Namibia in Geelong, Australia. Namibia posted a formidable 163 courtesy of Jan Frylink’s 44 and JJ Smit’s 31. In reply, Sri Lanka did not look comfortable at all, as they folded for just 108. The Namibian bowlers were excellent, with David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, and Jan Frylink picking up 2 wickets apiece.
6: Ireland beat England by 5 runs (DLS Method) (2022 T20 World Cup)
In another upset at the 2022 World Cup, England were humbled by another European Nation, this time it was Ireland. After being put into bat, Ireland managed to score 157 in their 20 overs with Andy Balbirnie scoring 62 and Lorcan Tucker scoring 34. The pick of the bowlers for England were Mark Wood and Liam Livingstone, who picked up three wickets each. In reply, England were reduced to 29 for three as they had lost the wickets of Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, and Ben Stokes in quick succession. Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, and Moeen Ali tried to resurrect the innings, but then rain interrupted the game with England behind on DLS. The game never restarted, and Ireland were announced as the winners by 5 runs.
7: Netherlands beat South Africa by 13 runs (2022 T20 World Cup)
In another upset of the 2022 World Cup, the Netherlands defeated South Africa by 13 runs in Adelaide. The Netherlands posted a decent score of 158 in their 20 overs, with Stephan Myburgh scoring 37, Tom Cooper scoring 35, and Colin Ackermann scoring 41. In reply, South Africa never got going as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. The highest scorer for them was Rilee Rossouw, who scored 25. Brandon Glover picked up three wickets while Fred Klaassen and Bas de Leede picked up two wickets each. The match is also remembered for a wonderful running catch by the veteran Roelof van der Merwe of David Miller, which put the Proteas in a very difficult position. Eventually, South Africa fell short by 13 runs.
8: Zimbabwe beat Pakistan by 1 run (2022 T20 World Cup)
Pakistan reached the final in the 2022 T20 World Cup, but they were given a real jolt by Zimbabwe in the group stages as they lost against them by one run. Pakistan were superb with the ball as they restricted Zimbabwe to just 130 in their 20 overs. Mohammad Wasim Junior picked up four wickets while Shadab Khan took three wickets. In reply, Pakistan lost Muhammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, and Iftikhar Ahmed cheaply. Shan Masood rebuilt the innings along with Shadab Khan. They needed 11 to win off the final over and then got 8 runs in the first three balls. They failed as they managed to get just one run and handed the game to Zimbabwe.
9: USA beat Pakistan in the Super Over (2024 T20 World Cup)
One of the biggest upsets in T20 World Cup history came in the 2024 edition, as no one had expected Pakistan to go down to the USA. Opting to bowl first, USA restricted Pakistan to 159 for 7, with Babar Azam scoring 44 and Shadab Khan scoring 40. In reply, Monank Patel led the charge with a brilliant 50 in just 38 balls. With a few wickets falling, Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar took the responsibility in the final over, needing 15 to win. The first three balls went for just three before Jones hit a six and then a single. Nitish then managed to find the fence to take the game to a Super Over. The USA managed to score 18 in the Super Over before Netravalkar started the party for the Americans as they won the game. It was a night to remember for the USA and Pakistan were dejected once again in the T20 World Cups.
10: Zimbabwe beat Australia by 23 runs (2026 T20 World Cup)
Zimbabwe got the better of the Aussies once again in the T20 World Cups when they defeated them by 23 runs in Colombo. Batting first, Zimbabwe managed to score 169 in their 20 overs with Brian Bennett scoring a brilliant 64. Sikandar Raza played a little cameo to propel their score. In response, Australia were reduced to 29 for 4 with their big guns back in the hut. Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw tried to resurrect their innings but once the former fell for 31, it looked difficult for them. They collapsed and fell short by 23 runs. Blessing Muzarabani picked up four wickets while Brad Evans finished with three wickets.
Honourable mentions
1: Afghanistan beat Australia by 21 runs (2024 T20 World Cup)
2: Afghanistan beat New Zealand by 84 runs (2024 T20 World Cup)
