The 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup is the 8th edition of the tournament. This time the showpiece event is being played in South Africa.
Australia are two time defending champions and also the most successful team in the competition overall with 5 titles to their name.
India's best showing so far has been a runner-up finish in the last edition in 2020, where they lost to Australia by 85 runs in the final.
The very first edition of this tournament was held in 2009, when England were crowned champions.Apart from England and Australia the only other team to have won the title are the West Indies, who won the title in 2016, when they beat Australia in the final by 8 wickets. The 2016 edition was hosted by India.
Ahead of the next edition of the Women's T20 World Cup, TimesofIndia.com takes a look at some very interesting stats and records:
# Of the seven editions of ICC Women's T20 World Cup between 20099 and 2020, Australia Women have won five - in the Caribbean in 2010; in Sri Lanka in 2012-13; in Bangladesh in 2013-14 (in succession); in the Caribbean in 2018-19 and in 2019-20 in Australia - the last two editions.
# England Women won the inaugural competition in 2009 in England while West Indies Women won in 2015-16 in India.
# New Zealand Women became the first nation to finish as runners-up in the first two Women's T20 World Cup, losing to England by six wickets at Lord's on June 21, 2009 and by 3 runs to Australia at Bridgetown on May 16, 2010.
# The only time India Women finished as runners-up in ICC's World Twenty20 was in the last edition, losing by 85 runs to Australia Women at Melbourne on March 8, 2020.
# The top five batswomen from India had a flop show in the 2020 Final - Shafali Verma (2), Smriti Mandhana (11), Taniya Bhatia (retired hurt 2), Jemimah Rodrigues (0) & captain Harmanpreet Kaur (4). The only saving grace was Deepti Sharma (2 for 38 and 33).
# Australia's Beth Mooney had managed 259 runs (ave 64.75), including three fifties, in six innings at a strike rate of 125.12 in the 2019-20 edition. It remains the highest by any player in any edition of Women's T20 World Cup.
# Beth Mooney was adjudged the player of the series for her excellent performance in the 2019-20 edition - her second such award - the first being in Australia's Tri-Nation Women's T20 series in 2019-20.
# For India, the highest run-aggregate in any edition of Women's T20 World Cup stands in the name of Mithali Raj - 208 (ave 52.00), including two fifties, in five innings in 2013-14.
# Poonam Yadav had captured ten wickets at 11.90 runs apiece in five matches in 2019-20 - the most by an Indian player in any edition of T20 World Cup.
# England's Anya Shrubsole (13 wickets at 7/53 runs apiece in six matches in 2013-14) and Australia's Megan Schutt (13 at 10.30 in six matches in 2019-20) jointly share a record for most wickets in a competition in T20 World Cup.
# Megan Schutt bagged 4 for 18 off 3.1 overs against India Women at Melbourne on March 8, 2020 - the best by any bowler in the final of T20 World Cup.
# Beth Mooney had played an unbeaten knock of 78 off 54 balls against India Women at Melbourne on March 8, 2020 - the highest individual knock in the final of a Twenty20 World Cup.
# Harmanpreet Kaur had posted 104 off 51 balls vs NZ Women at Providence on November 9, 2018. The only T20I hundred of her career was recorded by Harmanpreet Kaur in Twenty20 World Cup fixture. The said innings remains the only hundred by an Indian player in Twenty20 World Cup.
# Harmanpreet (2940 runs at an average of 28.26, including a hundred and nine fifties in 146 matches) is all set to complete 3,000 runs and to become the fourth player to accomplish the feat in Twenty20 Internationals - the first three being Suzie Bates (NZ) - 3683 runs; Meg Lanning (Australia) - 3256 runs & Stafanie Taylor (WI) - 3121 runs.
# Apart from Harmanpreet's hundred, as above, four other women players have managed a hundred each in T20 World Cup - 126 by Meg Lanning (Australia) vs Ireland Women at Sylhet on March 27, 2014; 112 not out by Deandra Dottin (West Indies) vs South Africa Women at Basseterre on May 5, 2010; 108 not out by Heather Knight (England) vs Thai Women at Canberra on February 26, 2020 and 101 by Lizelle Lee (South Africa) vs Thai Women at Canberra on February 28, 2020.
# Suzie Bates is the top run-getter in Women's T20 World Cup - her tally being 929 runs at an average of 30.96, including six fifties, in 32 matches.
# Nine catches were dropped by the Indian fielders - the joint-most among all teams in the 2019-20 edition. Bangladesh had also dropped nine catches in the competition.
# Run rate of 6.43 registered in the 2019-20 T20 World Cup overall is the highest among the seven editions.
# Batting Average of 20.27 recorded in the 2019-20 T20 World Cup overall is the highest among the seven editions.
# Seventy six sixes in 21 matches hit in the 2019-20 edition are the highest in a single edition of Twenty20 World Cup. The next best tally being 75 in 22 matches in the 2018-19 edition.
# Indian pacers' best performance in a T20 World Cup competition was in 2013-14, capturing 17 wickets at 11.76 runs apiece in five matches.
# Twice in a T20 World Cup competition, the Indian spinners have captured 25 wickets or more - 30 (ave 17.53) in five matches in 2018-19 and 25 (ave 18.24) in five matches in 2019-20.
# Four Women players have produced five-wicket hauls in T20 World Cup - 5 for 5 by Deandra Dottin (West Indies) vs Bangladesh Women at Providence on November 9, 2018; 5 for 8 by Sune Luus (South Africa) vs Ireland at Chennai on March 23, 2016; 5 for 16 by Priyanka Roy (India) vs Pakistan at Taunton on June 13, 2009 and 5 for 22 by Julie Hunter (Australia) vs West Indies at Colombo (RPS) on October 5, 2012.
# India's Ekta Bisht had performed the hat-trick in the ICC World Twenty20 2014 Qualifier as part of the 2012 ICC Women's World Twenty20 - vs Sri Lanka at Colombo (NCC) on October 3, 2012 - the first to accomplish the feat.
# England's Anya Shrubsole had become the second player to accomplish a hat-trick in Women's T20 World Cup, performing the feat against South Africa Women at Gros Islet on November 16, 2018 - her victims being Shabnim Ismail, Masabata Klaas & Yolani Fourie in the first three balls of the 20th over.
# The Australian opening pair - Alyssa Healy & Beth Mooney - hold a unique record, which is not likely to be surpassed in Women's World Twenty20. Healy (83) & Mooney (81 not out) posted 75-plus against Bangladesh Women at Canberra on February 27, 2020 and Healy (75) and Mooney (78 not out) in the Final vs India at Melbourne on March 8, 2020.
Stats Courtesy: Rajesh Kumar
