The inaugural season of the T20 World Cup was back in the year 2007. The final of the T20 World Cup 2007 was played between the two Asian giants, India and Pakistan in Johannesburg. Having won the toss, India elected to bat first. Gautam Gambhir was the highest run-scorer for India as they set a target of 158 runs. In the run chase, Misbah-Ul-Haq scored 43 runs but failed to win the title as they were bowled out for 152 runs. RP Singh and Irfan Pathan registered three wickets each to their names and India won the finals of the first-ever T20 World Cup
In the T20 World Cup 2009, Pakistan clashed with Sri Lanka in the finals at the Lord's Cricket Ground. Having won the toss, the Lankans opted to bat first and set a target of 139 runs. Kumar Sangakkara was the highest run-scorer as he played an unbeaten knock of 64 runs. While chasing 139 runs, star all-rounder Shahid Afridi scored an unbeaten 54 runs helping Pakistan win the title
The final of the T20 World Cup 2010 was played at Bridgetown between the arch-rivals, England and Australia. Having needed to bat first, the Aussies set the target of 148 runs with David Hussey smashing 59 runs off 54 deliveries. During the run chase, English batting duo Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen struck 63 and 47 runs, respectively. Under Paul Collingwood's captaincy, England registered the title of T20 World Cup 2010 to their names
West Indies and Sri Lanka were the finalists of the T20 World Cup 2012. The final match was played at Colombo with West Indies batting first in the match. Riding on Marlon Samuels' 78 runs, the Caribbeans set a target of 138 runs. In the run chase, the Lankans kept losing the wickets at regular intervals. Star spinner Sunil Narine was the man to claim three wickets along with Daren Sammy who registered two wickets to his name
In the T20 World Cup 2014 final, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first against India. With the help of Virat Kohli's 77, the "Men in Blue" were able to post a target of 131 runs. The "Lions" successfully chased the target with Kumar Sangakkara scoring an unbeaten 52 runs. SL won the finals by six wickets
The final of the T20 World Cup 2016 was played at the Eden Gardens between England and West Indies. Having needed to bat first, Joe Root smashed 54 runs following which England posted 155 runs on board. Marlon Samuels played an unbeaten knock of 85 runs along with Carlos Brathwaite who accumulated 34 runs off just 10 deliveries. With this, the Caribbeans won their second T20 World Cup title
Dubai International Stadium witnessed the final of the T20 World Cup 2021 between New Zealand and Australia. With the Black Caps batting first, they set a target of gigantic 173 runs. Kane Williamson was the highest-scorer for NZ as he scored 85 runs in just 48 balls. To chase down the target, Australia's David Warner struck 53 runs, followed by Mitchell Marsh who scored an unbeaten 77 runs to help Australia lift the T20 World Cup 2021
In 2022, Pakistan yet again managed to reach the finals which was played against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Showcasing an exceptional ball show, Pakistan was reduced to 137 runs. Sam Curran bagged three wickets and Adil Rashid and Chris Jordan registered two wickets each to their names. While chasing 138 runs, Ben Stokes single-handedly pulled the match. Facing 49 deliveries, he scored 52 runs which were laced with 5 fours and 1 sixes. The Englishmen won the finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 by five wickets against Pakistan
ADVERTISEMENT
