The Indian women’s cricket team is heading into their ninth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, chasing their long-held dream of winning their maiden world title at the 2024 edition in the UAE, starting on October 3rd.
India has participated in all eight previous editions of the Women’s T20 World Cup.
They have reached the knockout stage on five occasions, including a runner-up finish in the 2020 edition in Australia.
The World Cup is returning to Asia after eight years, which might benefit the Indian team, as they are highly familiar with the conditions.
This could also play to the strength of their world-class spin bowlers.
Here, The Bridge looks at the historical performances of the Indian women’s cricket team at the ICC T20 World Cup.
World Cup Debut (2008-2010)
The Indian women’s team made their debut in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in England in 2009, under the leadership of Jhulan Goswami.
The current team captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, is the only player from that squad who will be participating in the 2024 edition of the World Cup in the UAE.
India didn’t have a strong start to their World Cup campaign, losing their first-ever World Cup match to hosts England.
However, the team bounced back and qualified for the semifinals after winning their next two matches. Unfortunately, they were unable to progress further, losing their semifinal to New Zealand.
A similar story unfolded in the next edition of the World Cup in 2010, where India once again reached the semifinals but fell short against eventual champions Australia.
Dreadful run in the Sub-continent (2012-2016)
The Indian team experienced a poor phase between 2012 and 2016, as they failed to reach the knockout stages in three consecutive editions of the T20 World Cup.
Coincidentally, all three of these World Cups took place in the South Asian region.
In the 2012 edition, India failed to win a single match and finished last in their group, marking their worst-ever finish in the tournament to date.
This disappointing form continued in the 2014 edition, where India suffered their first-ever T20 World Cup defeat to Sri Lanka, again ending their campaign in the group stage.
The 2016 edition, hosted by India for the first time, was expected to be a turning point for the team, but they managed only one win in their four matches, again crashing out in the group stage for the third consecutive time.
Struggling to Cross the Semifinal Hurdle (2018)
After a few forgettable tournaments, India made a strong comeback in the 2018 edition in the West Indies, emerging as one of the best teams after the group stage.
They won all four of their group matches, topping their group for the first time ever.
India also registered their first-ever T20 World Cup victories over arch-rivals New Zealand and Australia.
However, their campaign ended in the semifinals, where they were defeated by England.
So close yet so far (2020)
The best performance by the Indian women’s team came in the 2020 edition in Australia.
They topped the group stage for the second consecutive time, including a crucial win against the defending champions.
India reached their first-ever T20 World Cup final after their semifinal match against England was abandoned due to rain, allowing India to advance based on their superior group-stage performance.
In the final, India faced hosts Australia, a team they had defeated earlier in the tournament.
However, the final proved to be a different challenge, and Australia showcased their class, winning the match convincingly and denying India their maiden World Cup victory.
Fourth semifinal exit (2023)
India’s most recent appearance came in the 2023 edition of the T20 World Cup.
They started the tournament well, with dominant victories over Pakistan and the West Indies.
However, their old nemesis England handed them an 11-run defeat in the third group match.
Notably, India has never beaten England in a T20 World Cup match.
Despite the loss, India reached the knockout stage for the third consecutive edition, facing two-time defending champions Australia in the semifinals.
In a closely contested match, Australia ended India’s campaign once again, winning by just five runs.