Biggest defeats by runs in T20 World Cups
The last seven editions of the T20 World Cup have witnessed plenty of individuals as well as collective records getting shattered and new ones being made. This is also equally applicable while chasing as many times have successfully overhauled massive targets while many have faced bitter defeats batting second. Without further ado, here’s a look at the biggest defeats in terms of runs in T20 World Cup history.
Afghanistan vs England, 2012, 116 runs
Afghanistan were an upcoming side during the 2012 edition of the T20 World Cup that was played in Sri Lanka and England made easy work of them in the Group A encounter at Colombo. The then-defending champions posted a mammoth total of 196/5 courtesy of a blistering unbeaten 55-ball 99 from Luke Wright. In reply, the Afghan chase never gathered steam in the first place and they crawled their way to 80 before being bowled out in the 18th over. Gulbadin Naib was the lone warrior for Afghanistan with a valiant 44 runs from 32 deliveries.
Scotland vs Afghanistan, 2021, 130 runs
Afghanistan were considered to be the dark horse in the last year’s T20 World Cup which was played in the UAE. In one of their Super 12 fixtures, they decimated Scotland by a whopping 130 runs. Batting first, the Afghans posted a competitive total of 190/4 courtesy of a quickfire 34-ball 59 from Najibullah Zadran. The score was always going to be difficult to reach, but Scotland were simply blown away without a fight as the spin duo of Mujeeb Ur Rahman (5/20) and Rashid Khan (4/9) decimated them, skittling the Scottish out for only 60 runs in the 11th over.
Kenya vs Sri Lanka, 2007,172 runs
This remains the biggest-ever margin of defeat in T20 World Cup history to date and it happened to be during the inaugural edition of the showpiece event in 2007 in South Africa. Sri Lanka faced Kenya in the Group C encounter at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Batting first, the Lankans posted a formidable total of 260/6 riding on a brilliant 44-ball 88 from Sanath Jayasuriya. In reply, the Kenyans never even looked to getting anywhere near the total as a collective bowling performance from the Sri Lankan bowlers restricted them to a paltry 88 in the final over.
