The India cricket team has won the T20 World Cup only once in the year 2007. They achieved this incredible feat in the first edition of the T20 World Cup, then known as World T20, which was held in South Africa.
India have participated in every single edition of the ICC T20 World Cup, starting from South Africa in 2007. When it comes to T20 cricket, they are one of the leading forces in world cricket because of the emergence, growth, and insane popularity of the Indian Premier League which began in 2008.
With that being said, let’s take a look at how many times India won T20 World Cup and also discuss the World Cup winners list in this format of the game.
India have won the T20 World Cup only once in their history. They beat arch-rivals Pakistan in the final by five runs and became the very first world champions in this format. India were dominant throughout the competition held in South Africa and thoroughly entertained the crowd. Matches with Pakistan where a bowl-out was required to separate the two sides in the group stages, as well as encounters with England, where Yuvraj Singh smashed six sixes in a single over off Stuart Broad to score the fastest 50 in T20 World Cup history and Australia are now regarded as modern classics.
The final was also a tense encounter as Pakistan took the game until the final over. However, MS Dhoni’s side kept their cool and Sreesanth took the decisive catch off Misbah ul Haq to win the T20 World Cup in an emphatic fashion!
India’s performances in T20 World Cup
| T20 World Cup | Hosts | India’s finish | Winners |
| 2007 | South Africa | Winners | India |
| 2009 | England | Super 8 elimination | Pakistan |
| 2010 | West Indies | Super 8 elimination | England |
| 2012 | Sri Lanka | Super 8 elimination | West Indies |
| 2014 | Bangladesh | Runners Up | Sri Lanka |
| 2016 | India | Semi-Finals | West Indies |
| 2021 | UAE | Super 12 elimination | Australia |
| 2022 | Australia | Semi-Finals | England |
ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2007
(Hosts: South Africa | Winners: India)
This was the first ICC T20 World Cup that was hosted in South Africa. A dramatic group stage win over Pakistan courtesy of a bowl-out set the tone for the rest of the tournament for the Men in Blue. Team India were arriving into this World Cup without most of their regular older stars who had opted to skip the tournament after a poor performance in the 2007 ODI World Cup.
However, the young Indian side led by MS Dhoni had everything to do after conceding a Super 8 defeat to New Zealand. Thankfully, Yuvraj Singh‘s six sixes off Stuart Broad helped India smash England, and hosts South Africa were well defeated as India sealed a semi-final spot.
Yuvraj came to the party once again with a dashing 30-ball 70 that helped the Men in Blue beat mighty Australia. There were multiple heroes in an epic final win over Pakistan, which saw MS Dhoni trust the unknown Joginder Sharma with the final over against Misbah-ul-Haq. Trying a then-unconventional ramp shot, Misbah found Sreesanth standing at short fine leg and India went on to win by five runs to become world champions!
ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2009
(Hosts: England | Winners: Pakistan)
As far as title defences go, it couldn’t have gone any worse for Team India. They lost all three of their matches in the Super 8s against West Indies, England, and South Africa to secure an unceremonious exit from the World Cup after breezing through the group stages with wins over Ireland and Bangladesh. To add insult to injury, India had to witness arch-rivals Pakistan winning the tournament to erase their pain from the previous T20 World Cup in 2007.
ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2010
(Hosts: West Indies | Winners: England)
While the T20 World Cup campaign for India began with a dazzling Suresh Raina century that crushed South Africa, it ended in a whimper with the side failing miserably in the Super 8 stage once again. They went on to lose all three of their Super 8 fixtures for the second consecutive year, suffering defeats at the hands of Australia, West Indies, and Sri Lanka. England won their very first World Cup in any format of cricket that year.
ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2012
(Hosts: Sri Lanka | Winners: West Indies)
It’s not often that a team wins 4 out of 5 matches and still fails to make it to the semi-finals. But that was India’s fate in 2012. India were tied on four points with both Australia and Pakistan in Group 2 of the Super 8s but the latter went on to progress to the semi-finals on the basis of a higher Net Run Rate.
Victories over Pakistan and South Africa weren’t enough to push their net run rate high enough to qualify for the final 4 as India’s earlier nine-wicket loss to Australia came back to haunt them. West Indies would eventually be crowned kings of the competition, lifting the first of their two T20 World Cups.
ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2014
(Hosts: Bangladesh | Winners: Sri Lanka)
All the stars seemed aligned for another Indian triumph in the ICC men’s T20 World Cup in 2014 with the tournament being hosted in the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. India breezed through the Super 10 stage winning all four of their matches against Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, and Australia. Young gun Virat Kohli was in the form of his life and India saw off South Africa in the final over of the semi-final.
Kohli was again to the fore against Sri Lanka in the final, scoring another glorious half-century. However, after he got run out on 77, the rest of the batting unit failed to click and Yuvraj’s overly cautious knock of 11 (21) prevented the Men in Blue from getting a big enough total on the scoreboard.
Led by the vast experience of Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka reached the target in 17.5 overs. It was some measure of revenge for the loss to India in the 2011 (50-over) World Cup final. Despite this, Kohli being crowned as the Player of the Series after finishing as the highest run-scorer was some kind of consolation for the Runners-Up.
ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2016
(Hosts: India | Winners: West Indies)
Once again, a loss to New Zealand pushed India to the brink of an early exit in the 2016 T20 World Cup hosted on home soil. But thanks to Virat Kohli’s brilliance, India rebounded strongly. His match-winning knocks against Pakistan and later against Australia remain some of the best ones ever played in the format.
Kohli delivered another epic performance in the semi-final, scoring 89* (47) to set West Indies a big target at the Wankhede Stadium. India struck early, but a combination of ill-disciplined bowling with Bumrah taking wickets on no balls, poor catching, and the big-hitting of Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell sent the hosts crashing out, just short of the final. Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Tournament again, as he was a couple of years before, but once again, India were denied the ultimate prize.
ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2021
(Hosts: UAE | Winners: Australia)
The T20 World Cup 2021 was another poor experience for Team India in this competition. Consecutive losses to Pakistan and New Zealand to begin the competition already derailed their campaign before it could even begin. A team that looked listless and tired, after a long Indian Premier League season and with the interruptions of COVID-19, finished with three straight wins, but couldn’t make it to the semi-final.
It proved to be the final T20I match of Virat Kohli’s captaincy as he had earlier announced his intention to step down as skipper. It was also the last match where head coach Ravi Shastri was in charge of the group.
ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2022
(Hosts: Australia | Winners: England)
India started the 2022 T20 World Cup in grand fashion. They were placed in group 2 of the Super 10s and began with a stunning win against Pakistan. In front of a packed Melbourne crowd, Kohli went down the ground and out of the ground to spark scenes never seen before in the country. India defeated Pakistan by four wickets. They then got the better of Netherlands by 56 runs. India lost to South Africa by five wickets, but made no such mistakes against Bangladesh.
India then smashed a 71-run win against Zimbabwe in Melbourne to top Group 2 and make it to the semi-final. Their joy, however, was short-lived. In the semi-final, India scored 168 for 6, but England came out all guns blazing to hammer them by 10 wickets. England then defeated Pakistan in the final.
In the T20 World Cup 2024, India are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, USA, Canada and Ireland.
FAQs
Who won the first Cricket World Cup?
West Indies won the first Cricket World Cup which was played in 1975.
How many times has India been t20 world cup winners?
India have won the T20 World Cup only once, in 2007.
Who are the defending T20 World Cup champions?
Heading into T20 World Cup 2024, England are the defending champions.
Who has been India’s best player in T20 World Cups?
Virat Kohli, who has been the Player of the Tournament in two successive T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2014 has been the best player from the Indian cricket team. He was also the player of the series in 2022.
Who played the most T20 World Cups for India?
Rohit Sharma heads the list for playing most T20 World Cup games, not just for India but overall: 42.
Who has the most 50s in T20 World Cup for India?
Virat Kohli, with 14 half-centuries heads the list for most fifties in T20 World Cup for India. Rohit Sharma is second on that list with 10.
Who has the highest average in T20 World Cup for India?
Virat Kohli with an average of 67.41 has the highest average in T20 World Cups for India.
