ISLAMABAD: World Cups are built for certainty — the best players, the biggest stages, the longest planning. Yet cricket’s global tournaments repeatedly remind teams that reputation is not a shield. Across ODI and T20 World Cups, the sport’s most memorable “setbacks” have come when underdogs seized one perfect day and favourites could not recover.
England
One of the earliest modern shocks came in Albury in 1992, when Zimbabwe beat England by nine runs in a low-scoring match that left a stunned finalist-bound England side scrambling for momentum. England were chasing a modest target but were bowled out short, a result still cited as a template for how discipline and belief can upset power.
West Indies
In 1996, cricket saw another jolt when Kenya defeated West Indies in Pune — a result that echoed around the tournament because the West Indies still carried the aura of a world force. Kenya’s win did not just dent a campaign; it announced that associate nations could compete when conditions and execution aligned.
Pakistan
The 1999 World Cup delivered a defining moment for Bangladesh cricket. At Northampton, Bangladesh beat Pakistan, a giant-killing that remains one of the most emotional World Cup scenes. Pakistan’s defeat was more than a bad day — it was a collapse that forced hard questions about preparation and pressure.
Sri Lanka
Four years later, Kenya stunned Sri Lanka in Nairobi at the 2003 World Cup, a result that helped propel Kenya into the tournament’s later stages and reinforced how dangerous home conditions and fearless cricket can be for established sides.
Pakistan
The 2007 ODI World Cup produced a shock that still defines the tournament’s early narrative: Ireland beat Pakistan at Sabina Park, sending a heavyweight into crisis. In a competition where Pakistan were expected to go deep, that defeat became a symbol of how quickly reputations can unravel in a short group stage.
England
Ireland struck again in 2011, pulling off one of the greatest chases in World Cup history by defeating England in Bengaluru — a match that underlined how one extraordinary innings can rewrite a tournament’s storyline in a single night.
England
Even in the era of powerhouse depth and data, upsets keep coming. At the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Sri Lanka beat England at Leeds, a defeat that shook the hosts and proved that “favourites” can still be ambushed when they misread conditions or lose early control.
Australia
And in the T20 World Cup, where volatility is the format’s currency, shocks can be brutal. Zimbabwe’s win over Australia in the 2007 World Twenty20 stands as an iconic reminder that one tight chase can become folklore.
Australia
Most recently, Zimbabwe revived that giant-killing history by defeating Australia again at the T20 World Cup 2026 in Colombo, a result that instantly tightened the group picture and reignited debate about how quickly T20 tournaments punish slow starts.
The common thread in these setbacks is not luck — it is nerve. World Cups are where pressure finds flaws. And every few tournaments, an underdog turns that pressure into the loudest story of all.
