T20 World Cup 2021: 5 teams India have defeated the most times in tournament history
The T20 World Cup is the grandest T20 tournament played at the international level. The 2021 edition of this mega event will start this Sunday in the Middle East. India were the inaugural winners of the T20 World Cup in 2007.
A young Indian side upset the heavyweights to clinch the T20 World Cup title under MS Dhoni's captaincy in 2007. However, the Indian cricket team has never won the tournament since then. They reached the final in 2014, where Sri Lanka defeated them.
In the previous T20 World Cup tournament in 2016, India lost to West Indies in the semi-finals. While India does not have a great record against Sri Lanka and West Indies in T20 World Cup matches, they have a phenomenal head-to-head record versus the following five nations.
In this listicle today, we will look at the five teams India have defeated the most number of times in T20 World Cup history.
5. England - 2 times
India and England have met thrice in the T20 World Cup. Two of the three games have ended in India's favor.
Yuvraj Singh's quickfire half-century helped India beat England by 18 runs during the Super 8 stage of the inaugural tournament in 2007. Five years later, India defeated England by 90 runs in Colombo.
The two nations are likely to face off in the knockout phase of the upcoming mega event.
4. Australia - 3 times
India have a 3-2 head-to-head record against Australia in T20 World Cup matches. The Indian cricket team defeated the Aussies by 15 runs to advance to the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.
Australia won the next two matches against India in the 2010 and 2012 T20 World Cups, but the Men in Blue are currently on a two-match winning streak versus Australia, having defeated them in 2014 and 2016.
3. Bangladesh - 3 times
Bangladesh and India have met thrice in the T20 World Cup, with the Men in Blue emerging victorious on all occasions.
They first met during the group stage of the 2009 T20 World Cup in England, where India won by 25 runs. Five years later, India beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in Dhaka.
Bangladesh came very close to defeating India in the 2016 T20 World Cup. However, they lost by one run in a last-ball thriller.
2. South Africa - 4 times
India and South Africa battled each other in every edition of the T20 World Cup from 2007 to 2014. The Proteas won the Super 8 fixture played in 2009, but the rest of the games ended in India's favor.
Most memorably, India defeated South Africa by six wickets in the semi-finals of the 2014 T20 World Cup, chasing 173 runs in 19.1 overs.
1. Pakistan - 5 times
India and Pakistan have crossed paths five times in ICC T20 World Cup history, and the Indian cricket team has won all five games.
The Men in Blue tied their first T20 World Cup match against Pakistan in 2007 but won it via a bowl-out. Later in the same tournament, India defeated Pakistan in the final to win the trophy.
The Men in Blue then recorded victories over Pakistan in the 2012, 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups. The two nations are set to battle again on October 24. It will be interesting to see if India can extend their winning streak.