The Women's T20 World Cup 2023 is all set to commence on February 10, and it has all the makings of a blockbuster event. It will be the first time South Africa hosts a senior ICC tournament since 2007. Australia are the undisputed No. 1 team in the world and the defending champions have a good chance of completing a hat-trick of World Cups in this format.
Upsets are a major part of every global tournament and the recent Men's T20 World Cup was a good example. The likes of Ireland, Netherlands and Zimbabwe among others, caused major upsets. Even the Women's event has witnessed several upsets in the past seven editions. in a recent warm-up game ahead of the marque event, Ireland defeated Australia which acted as a confidence booster for them going into the main tournament.
Here's a look at 5 of the biggest upsets in the history of the Women's T20 World Cup:
5. India vs Sri Lanka 2014
Sri Lanka had defeated India in a couple of T20s just before the World Cup, but to do it at a major event was quite the shock and it dented India’s World Cup campaign as it was their opening fixture. Sri Lanka won the toss and asked the opposition to bowl first in Sylhet, Bangladesh.
All the Indian bowlers chipped in with wickets throughout the innings and kept the flow of runs in check, but the Islanders managed to get to a competitive score of 128 thanks to Chamari Athapaththu (43) and Eshani Lokusuriyage (34). It wasn’t the flattest of surfaces, but one would have expected the Indian lineup to do the job.
However, it wasn’t the case as India always found themselves behind the asking rate, thanks to some excellent bowling. It looked like Shikha Pandey and Harmanpreet Kaur could have won the game for India, but the latter's wicket put a significant break on the scoring rate and the former's wicket in the 17th over was the final nail in the coffin. Udeshika Prabodhani was adjudged the Player of the Match for her impressive figures of 2/9 from four overs.
4. India vs Pakistan 2016
India succumbed to defeat in the most agonising manner after rain intervened and the DLS method came into the picture. India batted first and lost two wickets within 3.3 overs, and managed to score just five runs before Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj took over. However, the experienced duo struggled on the big day and could only score 16 runs each while facing a combined 64 balls.
Only Veda Krishnamurthy looked in control as she scored 24(19), but India could only put up a paltry 96 in their 20 overs. With the bat, Pakistan were in a pretty comfortable position at the half-way mark at 50/3. They were ticking along at the required rate, but the loss of three wickets in a space of two overs left them at 77/6 after 16 overs, and the game slowly started slipping out of their hands.
However, that was the last bit of cricketing action, as the rain played spoilsport and handed Pakistan a memorable win by 2 runs (DLS method). Sidra Ameen was crucial as she scored 26 off 26, while Anam Amin was the Player of the Match for conceding just 9 runs in four overs while also picking up the first wicket.
3. Pakistan vs West Indies 2020
The most recent upset in the tournament took place in the previous edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020, when Pakistan stunned West Indies in Canberra, Australia. Diana Baig got the big wicket of Hayley Matthews on the very first ball of the game and set the tone for what was to come.
West Indies were scoring at a decent rate until the dismissal of Lee-Ann Kirby, which put a break on their momentum, and they could only score five runs in the next three overs. Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle had a good partnership, but Pakistan kept themselves in the game and picked up wickets regularly in the death overs.
The target of 125 was chased down quite comfortably and they only lost two wickets, with Javeria Khan’s knock of 35(28) proving to be the difference as her strike rate allowed the others to take their time. Captain Bismah Maroof also contributed with a 37-ball 38 and guided Pakistan to a thumping win over the West Indies.
2. Sri Lanka vs West Indies 2012
West Indies won the toss and put the host nation in to bat first in a rain-affected game, which reduced the number of overs to 17. The home team got off to a good start, scoring 21 off the first three overs, but only managed 3 runs off the next two overs and lost both their openers. They struggled their way to 50/3 from 10.3 overs when it rained again, and the innings was curtailed. West Indies were set a modest target of 48 from eight overs after DLS.
It should’ve been smooth sailing for the Caribbean women, but Inoka Ranaweera had other ideas as she ran out Stafanie Taylor and got the wickets of Dottin and Smartt within the first three overs. This left them at 17/3, but it was still in WI’s hands.
They were 36/4 after six overs, but what transpired in the seventh over was truly miraculous. Seneviratna didn’t concede a single run and picked up two wickets, while there was another run out in the same over. They found themselves at 36/7 and needing 12 runs off the last over, but could only manage six, giving Sri Lanka one of their most iconic wins in T20Is.
1. India vs Pakistan 2012
This was Pakistan's first-ever win over India in international cricket and the game couldn't have ended in a more dramatic way than this. It was a dead rubber in context of the tournament as both teams had lost their opening games against England and Australia. However, there was still a lot at stake given the rivalry between the two teams.
Pakistan had won the toss and elected to bat first in Galle in Sri Lanka. It was largely a struggle. They couldn't cut loose against a disciplined Indian bowling attack and crawled to 98, courtesy of contributions from Sana Mir and Nain Abidi, who scored 26(38) and 25(34) respectively. However, they got 10 runs off the last over thanks to a maximum from Marina Iqbal, which had a game-winning impact.
Even India failed to score at a good rate in their innings. However, they were still in a good position at 44-1 after 9.4 overs, but Punam Raut's wicket triggered a collapse and they found themselves at 51-4 after 11.5 overs, with both Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet dismissed as well. Jhulan Goswami played well during her 21(24) knock, but her dismissal in the 19th over swung the game in Pakistan's favour, with India needing 14 runs off the final over.
They required 4 off the last ball to win the game, but Niranjana Nagarajan was run out trying to complete the third run and India lost by 1 run, in what was one of the most exciting low-scoring thriller in World Cup history.
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