Four most thrilling finishes in the history of 20-20 World Cup

The biggest tournament of the T20I cricket in the World, the 20-20 World Cup happens for once over a gap of either two or four years. Cricket’s governing body introduced this tournament to ardent cricket lovers 15 years back in the year 2007. South Africa was the host of the first ever 20-20 World Cup in the history of cricket.

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Currently, the eighth edition of the tournament is underway on Australian soil with 12 teams in the super-4 round following the qualifier round. Notably, the 20-20 World Cup has a rich history of iconic matches and nail-biting thrillers on a few occasions.

So, without further ado, here we’ll have a look at the top four thrilling finishes in the history of this multi-team tournament.

1. India vs Pakistan – Group Match – 20-20 World Cup 2007

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The Indian team was playing in the inaugural edition of the 20-20 World Cup under the leadership of the then-new captain MS Dhoni. The men in blue were playing their second group match against Pakistan as the first one against Scotland had been washed off due to the rain.

This match was a must-win for both teams to enter in the super-8 round on a winning note. Both India and Pakistan scored 141 runs each after the end of the allotted 40 overs. It was literally a crazy finish to witness for fans and players themselves. Later, the result of the match was decided by a bowl out in which India outplayed the men in green by a score line of 3-0.

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2. West Indies vs Australia – Super-10 Round – 20-20 World Cup 2014

The fifth edition of the 20-20 World Cup was played in Bangladesh eight years ago in 2014. West Indies were locking horns with the multi-time ODI World Champions Australia in a super-10 match of the tournament. Australia posted a target of 179 runs for the Caribbean team in the second innings.

The match entered thrilling mode when West Indies required 42 runs off the last 18 balls. Australia had one of the finest pace attacks in the World at that time. But Darren Sammy had some other plans on the day and his hard-hitting took the Caribbean side across the line. That amazing celebration of the men in maroon is still alive in the hearts of the fans.

3. India vs Bangladesh – Super-10 Round – 20-20 World Cup 2016

India and Bangladesh were facing off each other in the super-10 round of the 20-20 World Cup 2016 held in India. The men in blue posted a total of 146 runs in the allotted overs. Bangladesh was given a target of 147 runs to win this crucial match. On the other hand, it was also a must-win match for team India to survive in the tournament.

Bangladesh played brilliantly and the match was now standing at an interesting equation as Bangladesh need 2 runs off the last three balls. However, in a drastic turnaround, Bangladesh lost three consecutive wickets on these last three balls and lost the match by a close margin of only one run.

4. India vs Pakistan – Super-12 Round – 20-20 World Cup 2022

The recent addition to this list of matches with thrilling and nail-biting finishes is the super-12 match between two arch-rivals India and Pakistan played yesterday the 23^rd of October at MCG in Melbourne during the ongoing 20-20 World Cup 2022. Batting first, the men in green posted a target of 160 runs in 20 overs for India to win the match.

While defending the target, the Pakistani pace attack completely terrorized the Indian top-order, and the inaugural champions lost their four wickets only on the score of 31 runs. But then came the former Indian skipper and contemporary batting legend Virat Kohli who rescued his team with a historic knock of 82 runs off 53 balls. Eventually, India won this nail-biting thriller by a margin of four wickets.