The inaugural ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was contested in South Africa in 2007. India won the inaugural edition in a thrilling final against Pakistan, as cricket’s 20-over style made its global debut. Since then, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Australia have all won the T20 World Cup. Let’s check out who the champions defeated to capture the coveted title from each season.

India- 2007

 India became the first team to win the first ever ICC T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue won five games before the final, including a group stage encounter against England in which Yuvraj Singh blasted Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over. India defeated archrival Pakistan by five runs in a nail-biting final in Johannesburg.

India had previously met Pakistan in the World Cup group stages, which MS Dhoni‘s team won by a bowl-out. 

Pakistan- 2009

Pakistan bounced back from their previous final defeat to India to win the coveted T20 trophy for the first time in 2009. In the final, they defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in an easy chase. Tillakaratne Dilshan scored the most runs (317 runs), while Umar Gul took the most wickets (13 wickets).

England- 2010

A year after the second event, the third T20 World Cup was held. England overcame Australia by seven wickets in the final to win their first World Cup championship in any format. Mahela Jayawardene scored the most runs in the event (302), and Dirk Nannes led the bowling statistics with 14 wickets.

West Indies- 2012

West Indies won their first T20 World Cup in 2012, defeating Sri Lanka in a one-sided final. The colourful Caribbean power-hitters proved too much for other teams to handle in this edition of the event. Shane Watson of Australia scored 249 runs to win the competition, while Ajantha Mendis took 15 wickets.

Sri Lanka- 2014

India came close to earning a second T20 title in 2014, but Sri Lanka had other plans, winning the final by six wickets to bid farewell to the giants Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Virat Kohli led the batting charts with 319 runs, while Imran Tahir of South Africa and Ahsan Malik of the Netherlands; share the title of top bowler by scalping 12 wickets.

West Indies- 2016

The West Indies won the T20 World Cup for the second time in 2016 after defeating England in a last-over thriller. Carlos Brathwaite’s four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes in the last over cemented West Indies’ place in history. Tamim Iqbal (295 runs) of Bangladesh and Mohammad Nabi (12 wickets) of Afghanistan lead the tournament in runs and wickets, respectively.

Australia- 2020

Australia defeated New Zealand by eight wickets in the final to win their first T20 World Cup championship in the UAE. The Aussies used all-rounder Mitchell Marsh’s 50-ball 77 to chase 173 with seven balls to spare, finally capturing the T20 title that had evaded them for so long. Pakistan captain Babar Azam scored the most runs (303) in the T20 World Cup 2021, while Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga had the most wickets (16) in eight matches.