ICC T20 World Cups 2007-22: Revisiting Australia’s Journey

The six-time ODI World Cup champions, Australia have been one of the dominating force in the 50-over cricket but they have managed to win only one T20 World Cup trophy from eight editions so far. Through the article, we take a look at their journey through the various T20 World Cup editions.

Hyderabad: Australia has been always a powerhouse in the ODI World Cups winning it on six occasions. But, when it comes to the T20 World Cups, the performance from the Kangaroos has taken a dip. From the eight editions of the tournament, they have managed to win only one in 2021 beating New Zealand in the final by eight wickets.

Australia will start their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 with a match against Oman on June 6. They have a very powerful roster with all-rounders adding to their batting depth and quality pacers like Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins rolling their arms in the bowling department.

However, Australia have reasons to worry ahead of the tournament and explosive batter Travis Head's recent form is one of them. After having a stellar run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the league stage, Head's form dipped in the knockouts. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell experienced a horrid reason and the national side will expect him to deliver with the bat in the upcoming edition of the marquee tournament.

Now, as the mighty Australia team start their campaign in the T20 World Cup, let us take a look at their journey through the various editions.

• Title run in the 2021 World Cup

After the Australian fans waited for 13 long years to see their favourite team lift the silverware, their excruciating pain to witness such a scenario was turned into reality in 2021 when Australia defeated New Zealand by eight wickets in the final. It was a dominating display in the summit clash for the team as they chased the target of 173 with a loss of just a couple of wickets thanks to Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten knock of 77 runs from 50 deliveries. Josh Hazlewood shone with the ball taking three wickets. David Warner amassed 289 runs in the tournament with an average of 48.16 while Adam Zampa picked 13 wickets with the ball. The Australian bowling attack was impressive throughout the campaign restricting teams below a total of 160 except for the match against Pakistan and New Zealand.

• Failing to surpass beyond knockouts

Australia were one of the favourites in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007 as they had the likes of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist in the lineup. The bowling department included speedsters like Bret Lee and Mitchell Johnson. They were unbeaten till the semi-final but a young and vibrant Indian side ousted them by 15 runs in the contest. Australian batting unit faltered in the match and they failed to chase down the target despite Matthew Hayden’s fiery blitz as no one from the lower order except for Andrew Symonds stepped up to the task.

In 2010, they made it to the final of the competition but came short against England in the tournament decider by seven wickets. The batting was pretty strong for the Australian side as they posted three 180-plus scores on the road to the final. However, the batting faltered in the final against a brilliant bowling effort from England and the opposition chased a low target of 148 with ease.

2012 was another season when Australia entered the knockouts of the competition but ended up catching an exit route after a semifinal defeat against West Indies by 74 runs. Australian bowling troubled all the opposition throughout the tournament except for West Indies, who bashed their bowlers in the league stage. The Caribbean side replicated the feat in the semi-final and Australia were outperformed in every department.

• Group stage exits

2009 was one of the most disappointing campaigns in the history of the tournament for the Australian side as they suffered two defeats in the first two games against Sri Lanka and West Indies. The bowling unit looked weak and so the opponents chased down the target set by them with ease.

2014 turned out to be a dismal campaign for the team as they managed a sole win against Bangladesh in the tournament and were knocked out of it without showcasing any stellar performance.

A report card of two wins and two defeats was not good enough for the Australian side in 2016 to advance into the knockouts. None of the players displayed a decent performance and the team exited from the tournament as a result.

The Australian team made an exit from the group stage in the 2022 World Cup in spite of winning three matches. They were tied at seven points with New Zealand and England but the other two had a better net run rate than them. Marcus Stoinis was the highest run-scorer for the team racking up 126 runs with an average of 42. Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood picked five wickets each but none of the bowlers were impressive.

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