T20 World Cup winners: Know all the champions from 2007 to 2024

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was first held in 2007 in South Africa. India won the inaugural edition in a blockbuster final against Pakistan as cricket’s 20-over format announced its arrival to the world.

Since then Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australia have gone on to lift the coveted T20 World Cup trophy. Interestingly, no team has managed to defend their T20 World Cup title yet.

India, England and West Indies are the two most successful teams in the history of the tournament having recorded two triumphs each so far.

With that in mind, let's have a look at who the winners defeated in each edition to claim the coveted title. 

T20 World Cup winners list: Know all the champions

2007 T20 World Cup: India

India overcame arch-rivals Pakistan by 5 runs in a final at Johannesburg that went down to the wire. By doing so, India became the first side to win an ODI and T20I World Cup. The Men in Blue won five matches in the lead-up to the final, including a group stage match against England where Yuvraj Singh smashed Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over.

India had faced Pakistan earlier in the group stages of World Cup as well in a match that MS Dhoni’s team won through a bowl-out. Matthew Hayden’s tally of 265 runs was the highest for any batsmen in the tournament while Umar Gul’s seven wickets remained the most scalps for a bowler in the inaugural T20 World Cup.

2009 T20 World Cup: Pakistan

Pakistan shook off the disappointment from their previous final loss to India to get their hands on the prestigious T20 title for the first time in 2009. They beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in a comfortable chase in the final. Tillakaratne Dilshan was the highest run-getter with 317 runs in this edition while Umar Gul was once again the top wicket-taker with 13 scalps.

2010 T20 World Cup: England

The third edition of the T20 World Cup took place a year after the second. England defeated rivals Australia in the final by seven wickets to claim their first World Cup title across any format of cricket. Mahela Jayawardene scored 302 runs - the most by any batsmen in the tournament - and Dirk Nannes topped the bowling charts with 14 wickets.

2012 T20 World Cup: West Indies

The 2012 edition witnessed West Indies defeat Sri Lanka in a one-sided final to lift their maiden T20 World Cup title. The flamboyant Caribbean power-hitters were too much for other teams to contain in this edition of the tournament. Australia’s Shane Watson amassed 249 runs to finish as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, while Ajantha Mendis was the top wicket-taker with 15 scalps.

2014 T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka 

India came close to winning a second T20 title in 2014 but Sri Lanka had other ideas as the island nation won the final by six wickets to give a fitting farewell to their retiring legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Virat Kohli topped the batting charts with 319 runs while South Africa’s Imran Tahir and Netherlands’ Ahsan Malik with 12 wickets each were the leading wicket-takers in the tournament.

2016 T20 World Cup: West Indies

West Indies won the 2016 edition of the T20 World Cup after defeating England in a last-over cliffhanger to clinch the title for the second time. Carlos Brathwaite’s four consecutive sixes in the final over off Ben Stokes put West Indies in the history books. Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal (295) and Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi (12) led the tournament charts for runs and wickets respectively.

2021 T20 World Cup: Australia

Australia defeated their Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by eight wickets in the final to clinch their maiden T20 World Cup title in UAE. The Aussies rode on all-rounder Mitchell Marsh's 50-ball 77 to chase 173 with seven balls to spare as they laid their hands on the T20 trophy that eluded them for the longest time. Pakistan captain Babar Azam (303) finished as the highest run-getter in the T20 World Cup 2021 while Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga topped the wickets list, picking 16 wickets in eight matches.

2022 T20 World Cup: England

England cricket team overcame Pakistan by five wickets to bag their second trophy in the competition's history, becoming only the second team to do so. An all-round bowling performance from the Englishmen restricted the Babar Azam-led side to 137/8 in their quota of 20 overs. In reply, Ben Stokes scored a fine half-century to win the contest for England. While India batter Virat Kohli finished as the highest run-getter with 296 runs, Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga topped the wicket-taking table with 15 wickets. Get full T20 World Cup winners list.

2024

India won a thrilling final against South Africa in Barbados to win their second T20 World Cup, becoming the third team to do so. After a top-order collapse for India, Virat Kohli's knock of 76 helped reach a score of 176/7. Quinton de Kock and a half-century by Heinrich Klaasen made things difficult for India. South Africa needed just 30 runs off 30 balls to lift their maiden T20 World Cup trophy. But, a resilient bowling display by Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh stole the show. The death overs reversed South Africa's fate as India won by seven runs. Skipper Rohit Sharma was the top run-getter for India while Arshdeep picked up most wickets for the Men in Blue. 

Photo credit: Alexander Joe / AFP