The most recent winner of the T20 World Cup and one of the most successful teams in the history of the tournament, India have every single year been punched above their weight. Since the start of the 2007 edition of the World Cup, they have been a force to reckon with. Cricket has forever been the No. 1 sport in India but it has reached greater heights in the last 25-odd years in the country. It is played almost everywhere in the country. From Kapil Dev to Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and now Virat Kohli, India has produced some of the greatest sporting icons in world cricket. It might seem like an exaggeration but cricket in India is a religion in itself.
Cricket was brought into India in the early 1700s by the Britishers. While initially the sport was only played by the Indian elites, by the 1800s, everyone got involved in cricket. And soon that meant cricket became an out and out Indian sport with its own additions. The first ever first-class cricket match recorded in India was in 1864 between Calcutta and Madras.
India played their first Test in 1932 with Col CK Nayudu leading the team against England. It took India 20 years to record their first Test win, which happened in 1952 against England in Chennai. They made their ODI debut in the year 1974 against England in Leeds, a match they lost by four wickets. Their first win came in the 1975 ODI World Cup against East Africa.
The pinnacle moment in Indian cricket history came in 1983, when out of nowhere India lifted the ODI World Cup. That gave a fresh lease of life to the sport in the country and the fan-following reached an unprecedented level, which no one could have imagined. Then came the T20 journey and India immediately stepped on that bandwagon by winning the trophy in the first year.
India are the current holders of the T20 World Cup after winning the championship in 2024 under Rohit Sharma. India are currently led by Rohit in ODIs and Tests while Suryakumar Yadav is the captain in T20Is. Gautam Gambhir is the current head coach of the Indian team.
Captain: Rohit Sharma (Tests, ODIs), Suryakumar Yadav (T20Is)
Coach: Gautam Gambhir (head coach), Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), Ryan ten Doeschate (assistant coach)
First Test: 1932
First ODI: 1974
First T20I: 2006
Cricket board: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
ICC titles: 5
India in T20 International cricket
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R | Winning% |
| 232 | 152 | 69 | 5 | 6 | 65.5% |
Overall, India have played 232 T20Is, and have won 152 and lost just 69, which is a win percentage of 65.5%. Five games ended in a tie which were later decided via a Super Over/Bowl Out while six games have been washed out.
India made their T20I debut in 2006 against South Africa, which they won by six wickets. They then made their way to the T20 World Cup in South Africa and ended up winning the tournament in a pulsating final against Pakistan. India lost just one game in the T20 World Cup in 2007 and the final was one to remember. That win gave birth to the immensely popular Indian Premier League.
India’s record against other countries (minimum 10 T20Is)
| Opponent | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied | N/R |
| Australia | 32 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| West Indies | 30 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 29 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| South Africa | 27 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| New Zealand | 25 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| England | 24 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Bangladesh | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
India in T20 World Cups
Most runs: Virat Kohli (1292 runs)
Most wickets: R Ashwin (32)
Highest score: Suresh Raina (101)
Captains: MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli
India couldn’t have asked for a better start to their T20 World Cup campaign. They produced memorable performances one after the other and lifted the championship in the inaugural season itself, getting the better of Pakistan in the final.
However, despite doing really well in the T20Is in general, India failed to make it to the semi-finals in the next three editions of the T20 World Cup in 2009, 2010 and 2012. In 2014 then, India made their way to the final but their dream was shattered when they lost to Sri Lanka in the final. India made it to the semis in 2016, where they lost to West Indies while they made a Super 12s exit in 2021 in the UAE.
In the 2022 edition of the World Cup, India were beaten convincingly by South Africa. But they exacted revenge in 2024 by winning the championship much to the ecstasy of the nation. They beat South Africa in the final by five runs.
India’s record in T20 World Cups (2007 to 2024)
| T20 World Cup | Hosts | India’s finish | Winners | Highest Scorer | Most Wickets |
| 2007 | South Africa | Winners | India | Gautam Gambhir | RP Singh |
| 2009 | England | Super 8 elimination | Pakistan | Yuvraj Singh | Pragyan Ojha |
| 2010 | West Indies | Super 8 elimination | England | Suresh Raina | Ashish Nehra |
| 2012 | Sri Lanka | Super 8 elimination | West Indies | Virat Kohli | Lakshmipathy Balaji |
| 2014 | Bangladesh | Runners Up | Sri Lanka | Virat Kohli | R Ashwin |
| 2016 | India | Semi-Finals | West Indies | Virat Kohli | Ashish Nehra |
| 2021 | UAE | Super 12 elimination | Australia | KL Rahul | Jasprit Bumrah |
| 2022 | Australia | Semi-Finals | England | Virat Kohli | Arshdeep Singh |
| 2024 | USA and West Indies | Winners | India | Rohit Sharma | Arshdeep Singh |
T20 World Cup 2007 – Winners
India went to the 2007 T20 World Cup delving into the unknown. A format which they had hardly played, India dropped most of the seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan from the team. A young MS Dhoni was named captain, but what happened in that tournament changed the landscape of Indian cricket for years to come.
India’s first match at the 2007 T20 World Cup against Scotland was abandoned. Then came the epic encounter against Pakistan that ended in a tie. A bowl out, yes not a super over, followed and India came out on the right side of the result. They then lost to New Zealand by 10 runs and scraped through to the semi-final with a tremendous win against England, where Yuvraj Singh smashed Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over and scored the fastest fifty in T20I history, a record that stood for 16 years. In the semi-final, India took down mighty Australia with Yuvraj and Dhoni once again standing tall.
A mouth-watering final between India and Pakistan took place in Johannesburg. India batted first and struggled to 157 for 5. Pakistan then slipped in the chase with Irfan Pathan reducing them to 104 for 7. But Misbah-ul-Haq stood tall and almost took Pakistan over the line. In the last over, though, a scoop shot came which he top-edged and S Sreesanth took a simple catch to spark wild scenes across Johannesburg and in India.
The win in 2007 gave birth to the IPL, which reached an all-time high in 2024.
T20 World Cup 2009 – Super Eight exit
Much was expected from India when they went to England for the 2009 T20 World Cup but as far as title defenses go, things couldn’t have gone any worse for them. They breezed through the group stage games with wins over Bangladesh and Ireland, but everything that could go wrong in the Super Eights, did. They faced West Indies, England, and South Africa in the Super Eights stage and lost each one of those games to exit from the World Cup without much fan-fare. Pakistan eventually won the trophy for the first time.
T20 World Cup 2010 – Super Eight exit
Another disappointing Indian performance at the World T20 event. They started with a seven-wicket win over Afghanistan in Gros Islet and many thought this could be India’s year. They then brushed aside South Africa by 14 runs but went down to Australia by 49 runs. And when West Indies beat India by 14 runs, the writing was more or less on the wall. To make matters worse, Sri Lanka took home a last-ball thriller two days later. India finished their 2010 tournament with just two wins and bowed out with a whimper. The tournament that year was won by England who beat Australia in a pulsating final.
T20 World Cup 2012 – Super Eight exit
The 2012 edition of the T20 World Cup was much better for India but they still failed to make it past the Super Eight stage. It’s not often that a team wins four out of five matches and still fails to make it to the semi-finals. But such was the way things went for India at the 2012 T20 World Cup. They started with a win against Afghanistan and then brushed aside England by a mammoth 90 runs in the second game. In their next group game, India lost to Australia by nine wickets but beat Pakistan and South Africa to cap off a good run. However, India were tied on points with both Australia and Pakistan and failed to qualify into the next round because of a weaker net run rate. Their big loss against Australia came back to haunt them and India’s tournament ended early.
T20 World Cup 2014 – Runners-up
India came into the 2014 edition held in Bangladesh with a hope to leave behind their early edition woes. And they started on the right note as the stars aligned for them all through. India barely broke a sweat in the Super 10 stage comfortably winning all of their matches against Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh, and Australia. They qualified for the semi-final where they faced South Africa. The South Africans posted a challenging 172 for 4 in their 20 overs but Virat Kohli led the chase with gusto as India chased down the target with five balls to spare. In the final they were up against Sri Lanka. Batting first, Kohli was among the runs again but did not get enough support. India posted just 130 for 4 in their 20 overs which was chased down comfortably by Sri Lanka as they bagged their first win in the tournament.
T20 World Cup 2016 – Semi-final exit
Entering the competition as hosts, India were billed firm favourites to go all the way especially because of the form they were coming into the tournament. They started off with a big loss against New Zealand but then beat arch-rivals Pakistan by six wickets in Kolkata. A stunning one-run win over Bangladesh reignited their hopes as they made it to the semi-final with another smashing six-wicket win against Australia in Mohali. In the semi-final in Mumbai, India posted a massive 192 for 2. India then struck early, but a combination of ill-disciplined bowling with Bumrah taking wickets on no balls, poor catching, and the big-hitting of Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell sent the hosts crashing out just before the final hurdle.
T20 World Cup 2021 – Super 12 elimination
The T20 World Cup made its way to the UAE after a gap of five years. The tournament was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and India just could not get going. Their biggest shock was losing to Pakistan in their opening game of the tournament by 10 wickets. Next they went down to New Zealand by eight wickets with their tournament ending even before starting properly in a way. India won their next three games against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia but it wasn’t enough to help them qualify for the next round.
T20 World Cup 2022 – Semi-final exit
The tournament moved to Australia and India started the competition in grand fashion. Playing against Pakistan in their opening game of the World Cup, Virat Kohli was at his absolute best. He smashed an unbeaten half-century as India won one of the most epic games witnessed in recent times in front of a packed MCG crowd. They won against Netherlands, lost to South Africa but a big win against Bangladesh helped them qualify for the semi-final against England. However, their luck ended there. Batting first, India scored 168 for 6 but England came out all guns blazing to hammer them by ten wickets.
T20 World Cup 2024 – Winners
The glory days of India’s T20 cricket are back. The T20 World Cup moved to the USA and West Indies and India made sure they brought out their A game. They began with an eight-wicket win over Ireland in New York, then brushed aside Pakistan by six runs and then beat USA by seven wickets. In the Super Eights, India comfortably beat Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Australia to qualify for the semi-finals. Another easy 68-run win ensued against England in the semis as India qualified for the final against South Africa. They batted first and scored 176 for 7 in their 20 overs. South Africa looked all set to chase down the target but some Jasprit Bumrah brought them back into the game and helped them lift the T20 World Cup Trophy after a long wait of 14 years.
What to expect from India
India have not been the most consistent sides at the T20 World Cup but the new crop of players have shown that they have what it takes to take the team to greater heights. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja have retired from the T20 format and with Suryakumar Yadav leading the team, India will hope to go much forward and defend their crown in 2026. They have some excellent cricketers coming up and will hope to rule the T20 stage for years to come.
