T20 World Cups are always a big spectacle. Strong teams look to stamp their authority while newbies look to make a name for themselves. While the World Cup is a stressful event, it offers low-ranked teams a great chance to show the world a taste of their terrifying potential.
Only in the 2007 T20 World Cup’s first edition did we witness significant upsets that provided valuable insight into what to expect from the T20 format. Since then, there have been numerous instances where underdogs have defeated giants. This time also Afghanistan are a prime example of a nation that came as an underdog and established itself as one of the best teams.
We have seen teams pulling some masterstrokes over the years, leaving the cricketing World in awe of their performance. But at the same, it also breaks the hearts of millions of fans who see their nation suffer defeats. Let’s now recall the five most remarkable upsets which have left their mark in the history of T20 World Cup 
Netherlands vs England, 2009
England hosted the 2009 T20 World Cup and got an easy-looking first match against the Netherlands. Considering the T20 World Cup was arriving at Lord’s, that game was surrounded by big expectations and hype. England were arriving with big expectations and were tipped to make a blistering start against Netherlands in the opening game of the T20 World Cup.
On a jam-packed Lord’s evening, England batted first and made a blistering start with Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright taking the charge and helping to post 163 runs on board. Although England scored a par score, they were still considered big favourites with big names like James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Ryan Jay Sidebottom in the lineup. Netherlands however did the unthinkable as they chased the victory in a nail-biting finish in the last over to pull what could arguably be one of the biggest upsets in the history.
Zimbabwe vs Australia, 2007
Zimbabwe doesn’t have a glittering history in the T20 format but they marked their biggest win in the 2007 World Cup. They pulled off a masterclass against the Aussies in the inaugural T20 World Cup in Cape Town. The Australian star-studded started the innings in an impressive way but the Zimbabwe bowlers’ disciplined bowling put the Aussies batsmens in trouble as they could only post a total of 138 runs. Brendan Taylor’s 60 off 45 balls heroics in the chase ensured Zimbabwe pulled a historic win over them to write their name in history.
Afghanistan vs West Indies, 2016
The 2016 T20 World Cup saw West Indies lift the T20 World Cup for the second time. Interestingly they only lost one game in that edition and it was against mighty Afghanistan. Afghanistan and West Indies went against each other in their last group match at Nagpur. After electing to bat first, Afghanistan could only manage to score 123 runs on board after their batsmen struggled on a slow-turning pitch.
If it was not for Najibullah Zadran’s innings of 48 runs, the Afghans’ innings could have faltered earlier. However, Afghanistan enjoyed slow conditions as their impressive duo of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi tumbled West Indies to guide the team to a 6-run victory over West Indies who would go on to become the Champions in that tournament.
USA vs Pakistan, 2024
Probably one of the biggest shocks of the ongoing T20 World Cup. USA were one of the surprise packages this season as they performed as season campaigners this term. USA took on Pakistan knowing a win here will ensure their place in the Super 8. After Pakistan posted a total of 159, the USA batters played some exceptional cricket as they took their team to a super over after the match ended in a draw. Surprisingly, in the Super over, they outplayed Pakistan to register a historic win.
Netherlands Vs South Africa, 2022
At the Adelaide Oval, during the T20 World Cup 2022, one of the biggest upsets occurred when South Africa and the Netherlands played one of the most memorable games ever. For South Africa, the match was more than a league match because a win was needed to advance to the semifinals, which was predicyed to be an easy job.
Despite a barrage of attacks from the Proteas bowlers, the Dutch maintained some control during the innings, but they could only muster 158 runs. Colin Ackermann scored 41 runs off of 26 balls and was the star of the show with bat. Under pressure, South Africa’s chase began poorly with Dutch bowlers breathing fire. Taking three and two wickets apiece, Brandon Glover and Bas de Leede orchestrated one of the tournament’s biggest upsets and kicked South Africa out of the tournament.
