T20 World Cup 2022: 5 biggest upsets in the tournament's history

The T20 World Cup 2022 got underway earlier today in Geelong. Former champions Sri Lanka locked horns with Namibia in the opening contest of the mega event.

Since Sri Lanka recently captured the Asia Cup trophy, many fans picked the islanders as the overwhelming favorites to win.

However, Namibia brought their "A" game to the table and upset the islanders, recording a big win in the first game. Fans should note that this was not the first upset in T20 World Cup history.

Before the next matches of the T20 World Cup 2022 take place, here's a list of the five biggest upsets that have happened in the mega event thus far.

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#1 Namibia beat Sri Lanka, T20 World Cup 2022

As mentioned ahead, Namibia stunned Sri Lanka in the first match of the T20 World Cup 2022. A 28-ball 44 from Jan Frylinck helped Namibia set a 164-run target for their opponents.

Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals in the run-chase and eventually lost all their wickets for 108 runs in 19 overs.

David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, and Frylinck scalped two wickets each to power Namibia to a memorable win.

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#2 Zimbabwe beat Australia, T20 World Cup 2007

Zimbabwe won their first T20 World Cup match against Australia (Image: Getty)

Zimbabwe, who are making a comeback in the T20 World Cup 2022, participated in the inaugural edition of the mega event back in 2007.

The African side were up against Ricky Ponting's invincible Australian team in their tournament opener.

Not many fans gave Zimbabwe a chance, but a disciplined bowling performance helped them restrict Australia to 138/9 in 20 overs. Elton Chigumbura bagged three wickets for Zimbabwe.

Chasing 139 for a historic win, Zimbabwe rode on wicket-keeper Brendan Taylor's unbeaten 60-run knock to seal the deal in 19.5 overs with five wickets in hand.

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#3 Netherlands beat England, T20 World Cup 2009

Like the T20 World Cup 2022, fans witnessed a big upset in the opening game of the 2009 edition. The Netherlands defeated hosts England by four wickets in a nail-biting thriller at the Lord's cricket ground.

England scored 162/5 in their 20 overs. Chasing 163 for a win, Tom de Grooth's 49-run knock guided the Dutch team closer to the target. Eventually, the equation came down to seven runs from six balls.

Stuart Broad conceded only five runs off the first five balls. The game could have ended in a draw, but an overthrow allowed Ryan ten Doeschate and Edgar Schiferli to steal a couple on the final delivery and win it for the Netherlands.

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#4 Netherlands beat England, 2014

Netherlands beat England again in the 2014 T20 World Cup (Image: Getty)

For some reason, 2010 T20 World Cup champions England have always struggled against the Netherlands on the grand stage. Five years after a shocking defeat at Lord's, England lost to the Netherlands by 45 runs in Chittagong.

In a Group 1 match of the T20 World Cup 2014, the Dutch team scored 133/5 in their 20 overs. Many fans expected England to chase the 134-run target, but the Stuart Broad-led outfit were all out for just 88 runs.

Mudassar Bukhari and Logan van Beek picked up three wickets each for the Netherlands as they beat England for the second time.

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#5 Afghanistan beat West Indies, T20 World Cup 2016

West Indies dominated almost all the top-tier teams in the T20 World Cup 2016 and ended the tournament as the champions. Interestingly, the Men in Maroon lost only one match, and that defeat came against Afghanistan.

Playing at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, Afghanistan's spinners troubled West Indies and successfully defended a meager 124-run target.

Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi took two wickets each, while Amir Hamza bowled an economical spell of 1/9 to help Afghanistan end their tournament on a winning note.

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Will we see one more upset in T20 World Cup 2022? Share your answers in the comments box below.