Five Underdog Teams Who Went On To Win An ICC Event In The 21st Century

One of the beauties of sports is how an underdog, battling all the odds stacked against them/him/her, work their way to the top?? and to the pleasant surprise of many script whirlwind heists.

If we talk about cricket, nothing can match what Kapil Dev-led Team India achieved in the summer of 1983 when they defeated two-time world champions West Indies in the final at Lord’s.

But in the past 20 years there have been several such occasions where an underdog has proceeded to defy the odds to become world champions.

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Here’s a look at Five underdog teams who went on to win an ICC event in the 21st century:

5. New Zealand

Tournament: ICC Knockout Trophy, 2000

The 2000 ICC Knockout was the second edition of what is now called the Champions Trophy. World Champions Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan were the firm favorites leading into the tournament, but to the surprise of many India and New Zealand made it to the grand finale.

While India-led by Sourav Ganguly humbled Australia and South Africa in the Quarter-finals and semifinals respectively, the Kiwis made their way into the finals by avenging the 1999 World Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Pakistan by giving the Mohin Khan-led Men in Green, a taste of their own medicine, courtesy a four-wicket win thanks to brilliant knocks from Roger Twose [87] and Craig McMillan [51].

And, so the stage was set for the grand finale in Nairobi. Sourav Ganguly continued with his imperious form by shellacking a whirlwind 117 off 130 balls but a middle-order collapse ensued and the Men in Blue could only manage 54 runs in the last 11 overs.

But when the Kiwis were reduced to 5-132 at the halfway mark, it looked like a total of 6-264 was more than good enough. Enter Chris Cairns. The swashbuckling all-rounder smoked a whirlwind 113-ball 102 and along with fellow all-rounder, Chris Harris [46] stitched an eventual match-winning stand of 122 to break a billion hopes, leading his country to their first-ever ICC Trophy.

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4. England

Tournament: ICC World Twenty20, 2010

England’s 2010 World T20 campaign- as was the case with the previous one- did not start the way they’d have wanted. Paul Collingwood’s men were humbled by eight wickets against hosts West Indies while their next game against Ireland was washed out.

England barely scraped their way into the Super-8. But from then on, the ‘Three Lions’ embarked on a winning spree that not even the most ardent English fans would have foretold.

The Paul Collingwood-led unit breezed past the Super-8 stage, defeating defending champions Pakistan(by six wickets), South Africa (by 39 runs) and New Zealand (by three wickets before swatting aside Sri Lanka in a one-sided semi-final (by seven wickets) to set-up a date with Ashes foes Australia for the summit clash.

Australia had been equally dominant in the tournament and had come into the finals on the back of a miraculous win over Pakistan courtesy a whirlwind assault by Mike Hussey on Saeed Ajmal.

But such was the momentum that England was riding, that Australia did not have any answers to their onslaught as a half-century from Craig Kieswetter (63) and a 31-ball 47 from Kevin Pieterson guided the ‘Three Lions’ to their first-ever ICC Trophy.

Kevin Pieterson, for his 248 runs in six games at an average of 62.0 was adjudged the ‘Player of the Tournament’ while opener Craig Kieswetter was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his stupendous knock in the finals.

3. West Indies

Tournament- ICC Champions Trophy, 2004

By the time 2004 rolled around, former heavyweights West Indies were well-and-truly into a slump. They hadn’t managed to reach the second round of any ICC event since the 1998 ICC Knockout where they lost to South Africa in the finals, and so no one had given them any chance leading into the 2004 Champions Trophy in England.

But, as they say, cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties and the Windies proved that to the hilt during this competition. The Brian Lara-led unit breezed past the league-stage by beating Bangladesh (by 138 runs) and South Africa (by five wickets) before steamrolling Pakistan by seven wickets in the semi-finals to set-up a date with hosts England for the summit clash.

Batting first, England were bundled out for 217 despite a brilliant century from Marcus Trescothick. Chasing 218, West Indies looked dead and buried at 8-147 after Andrew Flintoff (3-38) and Steve Harmison (2-34) wreaked havoc on their middle-order.

But once again, the cliche that ‘the game isn’t over until it is over’ was proved to the hilt as a defiant 71-run-stand between Ian Bradshaw (34*) and Courtney Brown (35*) took the Windies to their fourth 50-over title.

2. Pakistan

Tournament- ICC Champions Trophy, 2017

Another Champions Trophy. Another miraculous heist. And, this time it was the Men in Green, who pulled off a miracle for the ages after everyone- including their loyal fans- had written them off post a 124-run defeat to arch-rivals India in the tournament opener.

But, if there is one thing that has always been constant with Pakistan, it is their unpredictability. And, it was on full display during this tournament.

After scrapping their way to the semi-finals where they beat pre-tournament favorites England by eight wickets, Pakistan put on a clinical display against India as a debut hundred by Fakhar Zaman and a breathtaking opening spell by Mohammad Amir, condemned the defending champions to a 180-run-win.

And, Nasser Hussain’s statement – ‘Pakistan cricket at its best, one minute down, next minute up’ couldn’t have summed it up better.

1. India

Tournament- ICC World Twenty20, 2007

It is funny to think now that India wasn’t even interested in participating in the inaugural World Twenty20 and it was only after they were outvoted by the member boards that the BCCI decided to send a team full of youngsters under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

No one had given India a chance when they headed to South Africa for the competition and when they lost their Super-8 game to New Zealand (by ten runs), the horrors of the 2007 50-over World Cup had begun to galore for the Indian fans.

India won the next game against England comprehensively after a whirlwind opening stand between Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir and six sixes by Yuvraj Singh propelled them to 4-218.

But the Men in Blue still had to win their last Super-8 fixture against hosts South Africa in order to qualify for the semis. And, with the inform Yuvraj Singh ruled out and the top-order stuttering against Pollock and Ntini, it looked like a distant dream.

But, it was that sort of a tournament where India found new heroes in every game. And, against South Africa, it was Rohit Sharma, who stroked a brilliant half-century and along with MS Dhoni, took India to an eventual match-winning score of 5-153. RP Singh, the leader of India’s bowling attack, did the rest as the Dhoni-led Men in Blue, not only beat the hosts but also dumped them out of the competition.

Yuvraj Singh’s whirlwind 30-ball 70 and Sreesanth’s 2-12 ensured India overcame world champions Australia in the semis to set-up a date with arch-rivals Pakistan- a team that they had previously beaten in the league-stage (via bowl out)- for the summit clash.

The Men in Blue, courtesy Gautam Gambhir’s 54-ball 75, posted 5-157 in their 20 overs. The pendulum of the game swung wildly throughout Pakistan’s run-chase. It eventually came down to 13 runs off the final six balls with Misbah Ul Haq, the lone hope for the Men in Green.

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