T20 World Cup: A look at Team India's performance across the six editions of tournament
Team India will aim to end their 14-year wait for a T20 World Cup title when they begin their campaign in the 2021 edition of the tournament from October 24. The side takes on arch-rivals Pakistan in their first match of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
In 2007, India had defeated Misbah-ul-Haq's side in the final of the inaugural edition of the tournament in South Africa. However, the side has since failed to replicate the success. India made only one other final appearance in 2014, where they lost to Sri Lanka.
As Virat Kohli's men aim to end the long wait for a second World title, let's take a brief look at the side's performances in all the editions over the years:
2007 WT20
After the side's first match against Scotland was washed out, India secured a dramatic victory against Pakistan in their second group game through a bowl-out. In the Super 8s, India finished at the top despite an opening loss to New Zealand, India finished at the top of the table with wins over South Africa and England to enter the semifinals. Yuvraj Singh was the star for India in the group stages -- particularly against England where he famously hit six sixes off Stuart Broad.
India defeated Australia in the semifinals before clinching a five-run victory over Pakistan in the final to lift the inaugural title in Johannesburg.
2009 WT20
In a bid to defend the title, India made a strong start in the 2009 edition with easy victories against Bangladesh and Ireland in the group stage.
However, in the Super 8s, the MS Dhoni-led side failed to win a single game, facing defeats to West Indies, England, and South Africa.
In another all-Asian final, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka to lift the 2009 title.
2010 WT20
Suresh Raina slammed a century in India's first game of the 2010 WT20 as India defeated South Africa by 14 runs in the group stage.
After finishing at the top with another win over Afghanistan, India endured a similar outing to the 2009 edition with three losses in the Super 8s.
2012 WT20
India defeated England and Afghanistan in the Group A of the 2012 edition.
In Group 2 of Super 8s, India faced a heavy nine-wicket defeat in their first game against Australia before making a recovery in the second game, beating Pakistan by 8 wickets.
However, India failed to meet the Net Run Rate (NRR) requirements during their victory against South Africa. Even as the side finished at the same points as the top-2 sides (Australia and Pakistan), India were knocked out due to a negative NRR.
2014 WT20
The format was changed in 2014 WT20 in Bangladesh when the lower-ranked sides played in the qualifiers, with two sides joining the top-8 sides across two groups.
India enjoyed a brilliant outing in the group stage, winning all of their four games against Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, and Australia.
In the semifinal, India defeated South Africa by six wickets to set up a final against Sri Lanka. However, MS Dhoni's side conceded a six-wicket loss as the side could only score 130/4 in 20 overs. Sri Lanka chased down the target with 13 balls to spare.
2016 WT20
In the home World Cup, India made a horrific start with a 47-run loss but recovered with three successive wins against Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Australia.
In the knockouts, however, the side faced a seven-wicket defeat to West Indies. Virat Kohli was named the player of the series after scoring 273 runs in five games, with an incredible average of 136.50. He scored three half-centuries in the edition.
