It is almost time! All the cricket fans in the world are waiting for the first match of the T20 World Cup 2026, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka. India are the favourites to win and defend their title, but the other teams like Australia, South Africa, England, and New Zealand stand a great chance too. But on current form, it looks like India is the team to beat, who are crushing every team they meet in the shortest format.
Since the tournament started in 2007, there have been a lot of high scores being posted, but there have been many cases where we see low scores being made, and to everyone’s surprise, the teams end up defending those as well.
Here’s a look at the top five lowest totals defended in T20 World Cup history.
1. 114 - South Africa vs Bangladesh, New York (2024 T20 World Cup)
The pitch in New York for the 2024 T20 World Cup was one of the most controversial ones as it produced extremely low scores, but it ended up as a thriller. That match between South Africa and Bangladesh was one. Opting to bat first, South Africa struggled on a tough pitch. They were reduced to 23 for 4, and it needed Heinrich Klaasen, who scored 46, to bail them out of trouble. His innings helped them reach 113, which proved to be enough. In reply, Bangladesh were reduced to 50 for 4, but then, Towhid Hridoy and Mahmudullah stitched a 44-run partnership, and they seemed to take Bangladesh home. Once Hridoy was dismissed, they collapsed and eventually fell short by 4 runs. Keshav Maharaj took three wickets, while Nortje and Rabada finished with two each.
2. 120 - India vs Pakistan, New York (2024 T20 World Cup)
In the highly anticipated match between India and Pakistan, New York produced another low-scoring match. India were coming into this game with a win over Ireland, but Pakistan needed to win this as they had lost to the USA in their previous game. Pakistan had won the toss and chose to bowl first. India lost their ace batters, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, quickly before Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel stitched a 39-run partnership. Post Axar’s wicket, India lost wickets regularly, and they were bundled out for just 119, with Rishabh Pant being the highest scorer (41). In reply, Pakistan’s openers, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, started cautiously and reached 26 before India’s premier bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, dismissed Azam. A small partnership between Usman Khan and Rizwan ensued before Usman and Fakhar Zaman were dismissed in quick succession. Pakistan never recovered from that as Bumrah, Hardik and the rest broke the back of the batting order. Pakistan fell short by 6 runs to register their second win of the tournament.
3. 120 - Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, Chattogram (2014 T20 World Cup)
The 2014 T20 World Cup was a great one for Sri Lanka as they went on to win the trophy for the first time after missing out in 2009 and 2012. One of their finest games was played in the group stages against New Zealand when they defended a paltry total. They were batting first and managed to score only 119. The highest score in the innings was 25, scored by Mahela Jayawardene. It looked like the Kiwis will chase the score down easily but Rangana Herath had other plans. He ripped through the batting line-up of the Black Caps as he picked up five wickets for three runs and New Zealand were bundled out for just 60 runs. Only Kane Williamson could get a little grip of the surface as he managed to score 42 out of the total of 60.
4. 124 - Afghanistan vs West Indies, Nagpur (2016 T20 World Cup)
Afghanistan sprang a huge surprise in the 2016 T20 World Cup when they defeated West Indies in a low-scoring thriller in Nagpur. Nagpur had already seen a low score being defended by New Zealand came into the limelight yet again in this game. West Indies had won the toss and had decided to bowl first. Their decision was vindicated when they restricted the Afghanis to just 123 with Sameul Badree taking three wickets. In reply, Afghanistan responded with a splendid bowling performance as every bowler except Samiullah Shinwari picked up at least a wicket. West Indies just did not have an answer as they fell short of the target by 6 runs. West Indies recovered from this setback and went on to win the World Cup.
5. 127 - New Zealand vs India, Nagpur (2016 T20 World Cup)
Before this match, India were considered the favourites to win this as they had a lot of experience and playing at home made it easier. New Zealand though came in as the dark horses. Nagpur’s pitch was slow and offered a lot of turn and both teams’ spinners made full use of it. New Zealand batted first and they scored just 126 and India were expected to roll over but it was not to be. Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Nathan McCullum ripped through the batting line-up of India, picking up 4,3 and 2 wickets respectively. India were eventually bowled out for 79 with the highest score being MS Dhoni’s 30. It was a horror start for India in the tournament while New Zealand went on to win all their group stage matches.
Recently, we have not seen low scores in India as the pitches have been flat but the World Cup will bring a different sort of pressure and we might see some low scores being defended. All-in-all, it is going to be an exhilarating tournament and we all are waiting for it.
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