T20 World Cup: Big teams that crashed out in the group stage

The ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup has seen few upsets, as Associate teams have given some performances for the ages. A cricketing powerhouse like England had to grind hard to beat inexperienced teams like Nepal and Italy. The United Arab Emirates also gave Afghanistan a run for their money. Even in the curtain raiser, Pakistan were given a scare by the Netherlands while Zimbabwe stunned Australia and Sri Lanka to top their Group. 

On an individual front, Yuvraj Samra’s record-shattering century against New Zealand on February 17 made its way into the annals of Canadian cricket. Nepal and Italy will remember this edition of the T20 World Cup fondly. Both teams registered their maiden wins in T20 World Cups this year.

However, former champions Australia will want to forget the ongoing World Cup as soon as they can. Mitchell Marsh’s men have been knocked out with a game to spare. On that note, let’s take a look at the top five teams who were eliminated in the group stage in T20 World Cup history.

T20 World Cup: Big teams eliminated in the group stage

5. West Indies in 2007

Chris Gayle set the T20 World Cup ablaze with a phenomenal 117-run knock off 57 balls in the opening game of the inaugural edition in 2007 against South Africa in Johannesburg. However, the West Indies lost the match by eight wickets.

The Caribbean suffered another defeat in their following game against Bangladesh by six wickets. With two losses, the West Indies finished last in Group A and took an exit, with South Africa and Bangladesh progressing to the next round.

4. Australia in 2009

The second edition of the T20 World Cup was played in 2009 in the same format as the inaugural one. Australia were placed in Group C alongside Sri Lanka and the West Indies, with two teams set to move to the next phase of the tournament.

Australia lost to the West Indies by seven wickets in their first game at The Oval in London. They had to beat Sri Lanka in their next one but that wasn’t to be. Sri Lanka chased down a 160-run target with six wickets and an over to spare at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Australia bowed out of the tournament, remaining winless.

3. New Zealand in 2024

New Zealand were placed in a tough group in the 2024 T20 World Cup, with teams like the West Indies and Afghanistan in the mix apart from Papua New Guinea and debutants Uganda.

The Kiwis started their campaign with back-to-back defeats, losing to Afghanistan by 84 runs and the West Indies by 13 runs. Comprehensive victories against Uganda and Papua New Guinea in the following games were not enough for the Black Caps as they finished third in the group and took an early exit.

2. Pakistan in 2024

Another team which was abruptly knocked out in the group stage in the 2024 T20 World Cup was Pakistan. The Men in Green were placed in Group A along with India, USA, Ireland, and Canada. Pakistan lost their opening game of the tournament to debutants USA in the Super Over.

In their next game, Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India by six runs and their backs were against the wall. Babar Azam’s men defeated Canada by seven wickets and Ireland by three wickets in their next two games. However, they could not progress to the Super 8.

1. Australia in 2026

Australia entered the 2026 T20 World Cup as one of the favourites. However, the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood was always going to be a concern for them. The bowling attack looked fragile, and the batters had to be on top of their game to compensate. Regular captain Mitchell Marsh missed the first couple of games and that did not help either.

After beating Ireland by 67 runs, Australia suffered consecutive defeats to Zimbabwe by 23 runs and Sri Lanka by eight wickets. The Aussies needed Zimbabwe to lose both their matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka. However, the Chevrons’ clash against Ireland got washed out and the Sikandar Raza-led side made it to the Super 8s. The result ended Australia’s hopes of progressing beyond the group stage.