ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | Minnows will have their time under the sun

The International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup 2026 is just two days old, but the excitement has already reached its feverish pitch with the minnows almost doing the 'Giant Killing' act.

Nepal ran England close in a Group D encounter in Mumbai a day after rank outsiders USA had champions India in a spot of bother in a Group A fixture

It is worth recalling that when asked to pick favourities for the T20 World Cup, despite choosing India, former Indian captain and coach Rahul Dravid was candid while admitting the vagaries of the format where the 'David killing Goliath' phenomenon is quite common.

“India clearly start as favourites, and they'll make it to the semifinals, but as I've learned to my bitter disappointment, it’s about the better team on the day. Anybody can play a good knock and upset you," Dravid said at a recent function in Bengaluru to celebrate the book on Rohit Sharma ‘The Rise of the Hitman’ by celebrated cricket journalist R Kaushik.

“Irrespective of how strong the Indian team is, one bad day in the office can undo everything,” he added.

Going by what Dravid said, what has unfolded in the matches at the Wankhede Stadium over two days is a harbinger of things to come.

On Sunday (February 8), two-time champions England survived a massive scare against a doughty Nepal, clinching a narrow four-run win in a tense finish to their tournament opener.

Nepal came within touching distance of creating history as they nearly upset one of the teams to beat in the competition, scoring 180 for six in reply to England's 184 for seven.

England's Will Jacks said his team was both "relieved" and "happy" after beating a gutsy Nepal. While the Himalayan nation's Nandan Yadav expressed both "regret" and "pride" on his side's heroics.

"Full credit to Nepal. They were outstanding in the field and their running between the wickets was excellent, they just kept coming, That's World Cup cricket. We've seen it already in this tournament: almost every game is tight," Jacks said after the match.

Nandan promised his side will improve from this experience.

"There's regret because we came very close and couldn't get over the line, but at the same time, there's pride because we're competing against very strong teams like England. Being that close shows we're improving, so overall it's a mix of pride and regret," he said.

A day earlier at the same venue, India scratched a 29-run win against the USA that saw a stunning top-order collapse at the hands of the Associate Nation.

A plucky USA, who put India to bat had the champions on the mat at 77 for six at one stage before skipper Suryakumar Yadav bailed them out with a gritty unbeaten 49-ball 84 that took India to 161 for nine. USA, in reply, finished at 132 for eight.

There have been upsets galore in T20 Word Cup history in the past -- USA beating Pakistan in the 2024 edition, Namibia beating Sri Lanka in 2022, the same edition in which Ireland got the better off England, Afghanistan defeating the West Indies in 2016 and England being stunned by the Netherlands in 2009.

And going by the current trend in the 2026 edition co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, the minnows will definitely have their time in the sun. Cricket and T20 World Cup is in for some exciting days ahead!

(With agency inputs)