ICC Women's T20 World Cup: Check out India's record at showpiece event

The Indian women's cricket team will look to begin their campaign at the 2020 edition of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's T20 World Cup on a high note when they square off with hosts and four-time champions Australia in the tournament opener on February 21 in Sydney. 

A total of ten teams will take part in the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup, with the final clash of the seventh edition of the marquee event to be held at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). 

All-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the 15-member Indian women's squad in the upcoming tournament while Smriti Mandhana will serve as her deputy.

India are placed along with hosts Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Group A while England, South Africa, the West Indies, Pakistan and Thailand forms Group B for the mega event.

Indian women, who are yet to lift their maiden trophy in the tournament, will head into the match after their decent performance in the tri-series featuring England and Australia where they reached the final. 

Ahead of the tournament, let us take a look India's past performances in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup:

2009

The first edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup took place in 2009 in England. A total of eight teams namely England, Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa participated in the showpiece event. 

The eight teams were split into two pools, with the top two teams of the two groups locking horns in the semi-finals followed by the final.

India kicked off their tournament with a crushing 10-wicket defeat at the hands of hosts England before they rebounded strongly to clinch back-to-back wins against Pakistan and Sri Lanka to make a second-place finish in Group B. 

However, the Women in Blue slumped to a 52-run defeat against New Zealand in the semi-final of the tournament at Trent Bridge, Nottingham to bow out of the tournament. Aimee Watkins smashed an 89-run knock to help New Zealand post 145/5. In reply, India were restricted to 93 for nine in their stipulated 20 overs. 

The 2009 edition was ultimately won by England following a six-wicket defeat against New Zealand at Lord's in London.

2010 

India once again made a semi-final finish in the second edition of the tournament in 2010 after sealing two wins out of the three matches they played in Group B. 

In the opening match, the Women in Blue once again slumped to defeat at the hands of New Zealand by 10 runs at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis.

Asked to bowl first, Diana David bagged a four-wicket haul to help India restrict New Zealand to a score of 139 for eight--with Suzie Bates being the highest scorer for the side with 32 runs.

In reply, experienced batwoman and former skipper Mithali Raj's crucial 44-run knock went in vain as India posted 129 for eight in their 20 overs.

Subsequently, the Indian women's cricket team registered a crushing nine-wicket win over Pakistan in the second group clash at the same venue before a 71-run win over Sri Lanka to book their place in the semi-final. 

In the last-four clash, India suffered a seven-wicket defeat against Australia at Beausejour, Gros Islet, St Lucia to crash out of the tournament. 

2012

India's most disappointing performance in the history of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup came in 2012 in Sri Lanka when they made a last-place finish in Group A after losing all of their three matches. 

The Women in Blue began their campaign with an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia at Galle International Stadium. 

Subsequently, they were beaten by England and Pakistan by nine wickets and one run, respectively in their remaining two clashes to bow out of the marquee event. 

The 2012 edition of the showpiece tournament was eventually won by Australia after defeating England by four runs at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

2014

The 2014 Women's T20 World Cup took place in Bangladesh. The Indian women's cricket team failed to even book their place in the semi-finals of the tournament after making a third-place finish with two wins from four matches. 

India were beaten by Sri Lanka by 22 runs in the opening match at Sylhet Stadium, Sylhet before they slumped to a five-wicket defeat in the second Group B tie against England. 

However, the Women in Blue rebounded strongly to seal a 79-run win over Bangladesh and nine-wicket victory over West Indies in the remaining two matches. The victories, however, were not enough for them to make it to the last four. 

Like the last edition, Australian once again lifted the trophy after defeating England by six wickets in the summit showdown in Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.

2016

The 2016 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the fifth edition of the marquee event. For the very first time, India hosted the tournament and it was held simultaneously with the men's World Twenty20, with the summit showdown of the two events played on the same day at the same venue i.e at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Contrary to the expectations, India failed to take advantage of their home turf and made a disappointing fourth-place finish in Group B with just a single win from four matches. 

The Women in Blue kicked off their campaign with a 72-run win over Bangladesh at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium which was their only victory in the tournament. They went on to suffer defeats at the hands of Pakistan, England and the West Indies in the remaining three fixtures to crash out of the tournament. 

On April 3, 2016, the West Indies clinched their maiden title at the prestigious tournament after clinching an 8-wicket victory over Australia. 

2018

India's best performance in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup by far came in the 2018 edition, where they ended the Group B unbeaten at the top position. 

The Women in Blue kicked off their campaign with a 34-run victory over New Zealand in the opening match at Guyana National Stadium, Providence. India then defeated Pakistan by seven wickets before sealing comfortable wins by 52 runs and 48 runs over Ireland and Australia, respectively to set up the last-four clash against England. 

In the semi-final clash, India won the toss and opted to bat first. Heather Knight bagged a three-wicket haul while Kristie Gordon and Anya Shrubsole claimed two wickets each to bundle out the Women in Blue for 112 runs inside 19.3 overs. 

In reply, Amy Jones (53 not out) and Natalia Sciver (52 not out) smashed half-centuries each to help their side reach the target with 17 balls to spare.

England, however, slumped to an eight-wicket defeat against Australia in the final of the tournament. 

Overall, India have a decent record in the mega-event, having clinched 13 victories in 26 outings they have made so far.