Top 10: Lowest Totals Successfully Defended in T20 World Cup History

T20 cricket is popular for high-scoring matches but many times in the T20 World Cup history, we have seen teams defending low totals and the match being turned into a low-scoring thriller

In this article, we will talk about the top 10 lowest totals successfully defended in T20 World Cup history.

10. New Zealand – 133/7 vs. Pakistan (2010, Barbados)

New Zealand beat Pakistan by just 1 run in the T20 World Cup 2010 playing the match 17 at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados. New Zealand, batting first, managed to score 133/7, with Daniel Vettori giving a handy contribution of 38 runs from 34 balls.

In reply, Pakistan lost 3 wickets in the powerplay itself, and except for Salman Butt and Abdul Razzaq, no batter looked in good touch. New Zealand’s Ian Butler took 3 wickets, and he bowled the last over too, where he took the wicket of Abdur Rehman when 2 runs were required on the last ball.

9. Netherlands – 133/5 vs. England (2014, Chattogram)

The Netherlands made a huge upset in the 2014 T20 World Cup. They beat England by 45 runs at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. Batting first, the Netherlands scored 133/5 in the 20 overs, and Wesley Barresi played a quality knock of 48 runs from 45 balls.

In reply to the Netherlands total, England were bowled out for just 88 runs. Logan van Beek and Mudassar Bukhari took 3 wickets each, From the English side, no batter looked comfortable.

8. South Africa – 130/5 vs. India (2009, Nottingham)

In the 2009 T20 World Cup, South Africa, after defending a low total against New Zealand, did the same against India in match 24 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. South Africa, batting first, scored 130/5 runs, with AB de Villiers scoring 63 off 51 balls for them.

In response, India managed to score just 118 runs. Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma gave India a fine start of 48 runs in 6.2 overs, but the middle order struggled against the spin of Johan Botha, who picked up 3 for 16 in his 4 over, helping South Africa to win the match by 12 runs.

7. Zimbabwe – 130/8 vs. Pakistan (2022, Perth)

Zimbabwe scripted one of the biggest upsets of the T20 World Cup 2022 by beating Pakistan by 1 run in match 24 at the Perth Stadium, Perth. Zimbabwe, batting first, managed to score 130 runs; Sean Williams top scored for them with his knock of 31 runs off 28 deliveries; and from Pakistan, Mohammad Wasim Jr. picked 4 wickets.

Pakistan, in the run chase, lost their captain, Babar Azar, early. Number 3 batter Shan Masood scored 44 runs from 38 balls. He was dismissed in the 16th over.

Zimbabwe kept taking wickets consistently, and Sikandar Raza took 3 wickets. Pakistan needed 11 to win from the last 6 which they failed to do.

6. South Africa – 128/7 vs. New Zealand (2009, Lord’s)

The home of cricket, Lord’s, witnessed a nail-biting match between South Africa and New Zealand, where the former team won the match by 1 run. South Africa, batting first in match 10 of the T20 World Cup 2009, scored 128/7 runs with an important contribution from Jean-Paul Duminy of 29 runs from 23 balls.

At one point, New Zealand were looking like the clear winners of the match, as Brendon McCullum was well set. But he lost his wicket in the 17th over to Roelof van der Merwe, who took 3 wickets. South Africa bounced back from there and won the match.

5. New Zealand – 126/7 vs. India (2016, Nagpur)

The hosts, India, were bundled out for 79 runs by New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2016, where the Kiwis, batting first, put up a score of 126/7. Corey Anderson top-scored with his knock of 34 runs, and all the Indian bowlers took wickets except for Hardik Pandya.

In response, India lost their first 4 wickets for just 26 runs in 4.5 overs, and Kohli’s wicket after the powerplay meant the game was over for the Indian team. Mitchell Santner took 4 and Ish Sodhi took 3 wickets, helping New Zealand bowl out India for 79 runs and win the match by 47 runs.

4. Afghanistan – 123/7 vs. West Indies (2016, Nagpur)

Afghanistan defended their total of 123 runs against the West Indies in the ICC T20 World Cup 2016 in match 30 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur. Batting first, Afghanistan put up a total of 123/7, with a crucial contribution from Najibullah Zadran, who scored 48* runs from 40 balls.

The West Indies were restricted to just 117 runs by the Afghans, with Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi picking 2 wickets. Only Johnson Charles and Dwayne Bravo looked good with the bat, scoring 22 and 28 runs each.

3. Sri Lanka – 119 vs. New Zealand (2014, Chattogram)

The ICC T20 World Cup 2014 witnessed a low-scoring match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Hosts Sri Lanka defended their total of 119 runs against New Zealand, winning the match by 59 runs. Trent Boult and James Neeshan picked up 3 wickets each for the Blackcaps and bowled out Sri Lanka for 119 runs.

In response, New Zealand were bowled out for 60 runs, with Rangana Herath bowling one of the best spells in the history of the T20 World Cups, picking up 5 wickets for just 3 runs in his spell of 3.3 overs. Kane Williamson top-scored for New Zealand with his knock of 42 runs from 43 balls.

2. India – 119 vs. Pakistan (2024, New York)

In the T20 World Cup 2024, India defended a total of 119 runs against their arch-rivals Pakistan and won the match by 6 runs. Pakistan won the toss and asked India to bat first.

The conditions were overcast, and India lost both openers early. Rishab Pant top-scored for the team with his knock of 42 runs from 31 balls. For Pakistan, pacers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf took 3 wickets.

Pakistan, in response, failed to chase the target, losing the match by 6 runs. Jasprit Bumrah was rewarded with the Player of the Match award for his spell of 3 wickets for 13 runs.

1. South Africa – 114 vs. Bangladesh (2024, New York)

South Africa defended 114 runs against Bangladesh, winning the match by 4 runs in the T20 World Cup 2024. Batting first, South Africa were restricted to 23/4 in 4.2 overs, then David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen stitched a crucial partnership and took the team’s total to 113 runs.

Bangladesh, in reply, kept on losing the wickets at regular intervals, although Hridoy looked good, but they lost the match by 4 runs.

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