ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | India’s record in T20 World Cups: year-by-year performance

India are all set to defend their T20 World Cup title in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Let us have a look at India's year-by-year performance in the upcoming event.  The tenth edition of the T20 World Cup is just around the corner, and the excitement cannot get any better with 20 teams participating in the glitterati event. The multi-nation tourney kicked off on February 7 with the Netherlands locking horns against Pakistan in a Group A match at the Sinhalese Cricket Club, Colombo. 

Amidst a blend of regular and associate members of the ICC, the Indian side stands as the defending champions, ready to defend their title at their home. However, there haven’t been any instances when a defending champion has successfully defended the T20 World Cup trophy at home. However, the men led by Suryakumar Yadav have been in outstanding touch, as they have yet to lose a T20 bilateral series since their 2-1 loss to West Indies in 2024.  On the eve of the World Cup, let us have a look at the Men in Blue's year-wise performance in T20 World Cups.

See More: ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Top 3 Lowest Team Scores in the ICC T20 World Cup History

2007 (Champions)

India finished as the Champions during the inaugural season of the T20 World Cup after beating Pakistan in an iconic final in Johannesburg. Interestingly, their campaign initiated against arch-rivals, Pakistan, where the MS Dhoni-led unit outpowered their counterparts in a one-of-a-kind ‘Bowl Out’ after 40 overs of intense contest failed to dictate an outcome. 

Initially, they beat Scotland and Pakistan in the group stage before making it to the semi-finals through the Super Eight stage, thanks to a good net run rate. Eventually, the Indian contingent beat a formidable Australian side in the semi-finals before outsmarting Pakistan in the finals. Gautam Gambhir (227 runs) was the highest run-getter for the Indian side in the tournament.

2009 (Super Eight)

The defending champions failed to defend their crown in the second edition of the competition in England. They beat Bangladesh by 25 runs and rubbished Ireland in the Group stages before incurring a hat-trick of losses against West Indies, South Africa, and England in the Super Eight stages.

2010 (Super Eight)

Another year when India’s campaign exited during the Super Eight stages. The MS Dhoni-led unit had a similar fate to that of the preceding year, where they topped the table in the Group stages but failed to win a game in the Super Eight stages. The Men in Blue beat South Africa and Afghanistan convincingly to ascend to the top of the Group C standings, but were undone by West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Australia in the Super Eight stage.

2012 (Super Eight)

The fourth season of the T20 World Cup wasn’t quite memorable for the Indian contingent under the leadership of MS Dhoni. The transitioning Indian side failed to live up to their expectations despite making it to the Super Eight stages. They beat England and Afghanistan in the Group A matches and topped the standings. However, the Super Eight stages continued to haunt the Men in Blue. They were humbled by Australia at the start of this stage before getting the better of Pakistan and South Africa. However, India had a low net run rate and could not make it to the semi-finals. Virat Kohli was their highest rungetter with 185 runs, while Laxmipathy Balaji picked up nine wickets in the tournament.

2014 (Runners-up)

The 2014 edition saw the return of Yuvraj Singh following his valiant fight against cancer. It was on the brink of becoming a memorable season for India if not for the final against Sri Lanka, where Ajantha Mendis outwitted the majority of the Indian batters

Initiating with the group stages, India won all their games comprehensively and looked like one of the best sides. The trend continued during the Super 10s where the Dhoni-led force peppered every other opposition. Even during the semi-final, they came on top against South Africa. However, they failed to hit the final nail in the coffin after being victimised by a sturdy Lankan side in the final. This was quite a special tournament for the Sri Lankan side as their triumph meant a fitting farewell to two of their legends – Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene from International T20s.

Virat Kohli amassed 319 runs while Ravichandran Ashwin bagged eleven wickets during the event.

See More: 'It’s Hard to Pinpoint What Went Wrong' - Abhishek Nayar reflects on UP Warriorz's WPL 2026 exit

2016 (Semi-Final)

Eyeing their second title, Team India got off to a rocky start after incurring a defeat against the Black Caps by a margin of 47 runs. However, the side bounced back with three back-to-back wins and qualified for the semi-finals. The top eight teams automatically qualified for Super 10s earlier, and the table toppers from Group A and B made an entry

India squared off against the West Indies in the second semi-final, where they scored 192/2, batting first. What seemed like a decent total was overhauled, courtesy of Lendl Simmons and Johnson Charles’ firepower. Additionally, Andre Russell’s 20-ball 43* added to India’s misery as they were knocked off in the semi-finals by the eventual champions.

2021 (Group Stage)

The T20 World Cup post-Covid19 has to be India’s worst outing in the tournament's history. Not once did the side exit from the group stage before the T20 World Cup 2021. The tournament was scheduled to be staged in 2020 but was postponed due to a worldwide pandemic

At the start of the competition, Pakistan outsmarted India by chasing down a 152-run total with ten wickets in hand. Right after, the Virat Kohli-led unit failed to beat New Zealand, where the Black Caps won by eight wickets. Although India won the remaining three matches, their net run rate was bettered by Pakistan and New Zealand, who proceeded to the next stage.

2022 (Semi-Final)

This marked a new era for the Indian contingent under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Rubbishing their poor campaign last year, the Indian side outpowered Pakistan on their tournament opener to gain momentum in the tournament. It was one of the most memorable Indian victories where Virat Kohli was the central force behind their marching win over the arch-rivals amidst a packed MCG crowd. Subsequently, they defeated the Netherlands by 56 runs before incurring a loss against South Africa by five wickets. However, they walked over Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the subsequent games to reach the semi-finals. 

See Also: Watch: Narayan Jagadeesan smashes century in 2026 T20 World Cup Warm-Up match against USA

In the knockout stage, the Rohit-led team faced off against England at the Adelaide Oval. They scored 168 runs in 20 overs for the loss of six wickets. As the surface got better to bat on, the Indian bowlers were scrutinised by the English batters. Jos Buttler and Alex Hales’ supreme batting meant the Three Lions chased down the target in 16 overs with ten wickets remaining.

2024 (Champions)

The Men in Blue marched into the 2024 season with a different mindset under captain Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid. Eight months after the agonising defeat against Australia at home during the 2023 Cricket World Cup, the Indian side brought about a new approach in their playing style. The Strategic leadership led the side to break their eleven-year-long ICC title drought.

The peninsular nation kicked off the tournament with a win over Ireland, and followed it up by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan, USA, and the match against Canada was abandoned. Without a doubt, the side topped the charts and reached the Super Eight stage. The momentum continued in this series stage, where they rubbished Afghanistan and knocked off Australia from the tournament to proceed to the semi-finals against England. It resulted in a 68-run victory where the Three Lions failed to tackle Indian spin on a slow-turner at the Providence Stadium, Guyana.

Facing off against a formidable Proteas side in the finals in Bridgetown, the Indian side registered 176 runs on the board, thanks to Axar Patel’s resilience and Virat Kohli’s fighting 76*. The veteran struggled throughout the tournament before making this knock count in the grandest of stages. South Africa were well in the chase for the good part of the second innings before Jasprit Bumrah turned the tide and stood up when it mattered the most. At one point, South Africa needed to score at a run-a-ball pace, but eventually choked, courtesy of a tremendous slog over bowling that was complemented with a scintillating display of fielding, resulting in India’s second T20 World Cup win.