The Australian cricket team has won the ICC men’s T20 World Cup only once. That victory arrived during the T20 World Cup 2021 held in UAE where they defeated New Zealand in the final match to become world champions in the T20 format for the first time.
Australia are the most successful team in cricket history given that they have won the most number of World Cups for a nation. However, they hadn’t found success in the T20 format of the sport until 2021 when they lifted their maiden ICC men’s T20 World Cup trophy in UAE.
Australia were far from being the favourites in that tournament but somehow they upset the odds to resume normal service in the world of cricket as usual. Before the 2021 T20 World Cup, their best finish in this format of the World Cup was in 2010 when they finished runners-up after failing to beat England in the final of the tournament held in the West Indies.
In 2022, Australia now find themselves in a hugely advantageous position. The defending champions will enjoy the privilege of defending their crown on their home soil as the 2022 T20 World Cup is being hosted in Australia.
Let’s discuss how many times Australia won T20 World Cup and how have they performed in every edition of the World Cup:
How many times Australia won T20 World Cup?
| Year | Hosts | Australia’s performance | Winners |
| 2007 | South Africa | Semi-final exit | India |
| 2009 | England | Group stage exit | Pakistan |
| 2010 | West Indies | Runners-up | England |
| 2012 | Sri Lanka | Semi-final exit | West Indies |
| 2014 | Bangladesh | Super 10s exit | Sri Lanka |
| 2016 | India | Super 10s exit | West Indies |
| 2021 | UAE | Champions | Australia |
Australia’s performance at every ICC T20 World Cup
2007 ICC World T20 (South Africa): Semi-finals exit
Fresh off the back of winning the ODI Cricket World Cup in 2007, Ricky Ponting-led Australia took part in the inaugural edition of the World T20 held in South Africa. Surprisingly, they began their tournament with a five-wicket upset at the hands of Zimbabwe but went on to bounce back with an eight-wicket victory against arch-rivals England.
Australia’s run in the tournament came to an end after the semi-final against India. They faced the wrath of Yuvraj Singh’s bat with the left-hander scoring a 30-ball 70 to stun the opposition. Australia failed to get going in the run-chase and ended up losing by 15 runs at the hands of the eventual winners of the tournament India.
2009 ICC World T20 (England): Group stage exit
Unlike the very first World T20 where they fared rather well, the second one held in England proved to be a nightmare for the side from Down Under. Australia failed to compete with most of the teams and after successive losses to Sri Lanka and West Indies in Group C, they were knocked out of the competition.
2010 ICC World Twenty20 (West Indies): Runners-up
After the debacle at the previous World Cup in 2009, the ICC World T20 in 2010 held in the Caribbean was a redemption act for Australia. They qualified to the Super 8 as Group Winners following victories over Pakistan and Bangladesh. Michael Clarke’s side then defeated India, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan once again to qualify for their very first final in the T20 World Cup against arch-rivals England.
It was also the first World Cup final match between Australia and England since the 1987 ODI World Cup final.
In the final, however, a no-show from the Australian batting unit saw them scoring just 147 runs in 20 overs. Craig Kieswetter (63) and Kevin Pietersen (47) led the run-chase for England who reached the target in just 17 overs with seven wickets in hand and became world champions in any format of men’s cricket for the first time in their history.
2012 ICC World Twenty20 (Sri Lanka): Semi-finals exit
Australia qualified for the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup in consecutive editions when they reached the Super 8 stage of the tournament with wins over West Indies and Ireland.
Australia qualified for the semi-final of the competition courtesy of their superior net run rate compared to the rest. However, they failed to succeed as the Australian bowling unit was taken to the cleaners by West Indies’ Chris Gayle who hammered 75 runs off 41 balls to power Windies to a total of 205/4.
In response, the 2010 runners-up were bundled out for just 131 in 16.4 overs. Skipper George Bailey played the only notable knock with a fighting 29-ball 63 but it went in vain as Australia lost the semi-final by 74 runs. Much like India in the semi-finals in 2007, West Indies went on to win the T20 World Cup that year.
2014 ICC World Twenty20 (Bangladesh): Super 10s exit
Australia had another poor outing during the 2014 ICC World T20 which was held in Bangladesh. They were clubbed in Group 2 with three previous T20 World Cup winners in India, Pakistan, and defending champions West Indies while hosts Bangladesh completed the five-team group in the Super 10 stage.
Australia went on to lose three group stage matches in a row and although they bounced back with a strong win over the hosts, it wasn’t enough and they were knocked out of the Super 10s. This loss led to skipper George Bailey stepping down from his position as captain of Australia in T20Is.
2016 ICC World Twenty20 (India): Super 10s exit
As part of Group 2 with four more teams for the 2016 T20 World Cup, Australia endured yet another underwhelming and terrible campaign during the 2016 ICC World T20 which was held in India to much pomp and show. They began the tournament in poor fashion with an eight-run defeat to New Zealand in their opening fixture.
Although they managed to recover with consecutive wins over Asian countries Bangladesh and Pakistan, they were at the receiving end of a Virat Kohli masterclass when they faced Team India in the final Super 10 match and ended up getting knocked out as a result, for the second time in as many years.
2021 ICC T20 World Cup (United Arab Emirates): Champions
Dark horses for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, Australia were drafted in the Super 12 Group 1 alongside England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh during the tournament held in the United Arab Emirates.
Even though they began their campaign with back-to-back wins over South Africa and Sri Lanka, Australia’s momentum came ended when they squared off against England who registered an eight-wicket victory thanks to a masterclass from Jos Buttler who slammed 71* off 32 deliveries.
With back to back victories over Bangladesh and West Indies, Australia soon rediscovered their mojo for winning matches. Thanks to their wonderful net run rate, the Aaron Finch-led side joined England to qualify for the semi-finals from Group 1.
Facing a strong Pakistan side in the semi-finals brought plenty of challenges that the Aussies needed to overcome. While Mohammad Rizwan (67 off 52) and Fakhar Zaman (55 off 32) played fabulous knocks to put Pakistan on top of the contest, Matthew Wade emerged as an unlikely hero for Australia to finish the match in style. He smashed three successive sixes off the fabulous Shaheen Shah Afridi to seal a spectacular five-wicket win.
Facing New Zealand in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Kane Williamson, who engineered the Black Caps’ run to the final, ended up proving to be their saviour once again with a fantastic knock of 85 runs off 48 balls, equalling Marlon Samuels’ record of the highest individual score in a T20 World Cup final from 2016. New Zealand finished with a score of 172/4 after being put to bat first.
David Warner led the Aussie response to the run chase as he hit a 38-ball 53 to get them going. The left-hander was well supported by Mitchell Marsh (77* off 53 balls) to see through a well-deserved victory for Australia. Australia beat New Zealand by eight wickets in the penultimate over to win the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 final in stunning fashion.
The result also meant that Australia also held the record for the highest successful run-chase in a T20 World Cup final and became the fifth team after India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and West Indies to win all three ICC trophies.
FAQs
How many times have India won the ICC T20 World Cup?
India have won the ICC T20 World Cup only once in 2007. They beat Pakistan in the final of the tournament that was held for the first time in South Africa.
How many times have Australia won the ODI Cricket World Cup?
Australia are the most successful side in ODI World Cup history. They have won the Cricket World Cup on five occasions, in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015.
Which team has won the most ICC T20 World Cups?
West Indies are the most successful team in ICC men’s T20 World Cup history with two victories, in 2012 and 2016. In fact, they are the only team to win the T20 World Cup on more than one occasion.
