Kolkata: West Indies were crowned champions of the Twenty20 cricket world after they recorded a dramatic four-wicket victory over England in Sunday’s final.
Eoin Morgan’s men chalked up 155-9 in a shaky opening innings and the West Indies responded with 161-6 to become the first team to lift the World T20 trophy on two separate occasions.
Carlos Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels stole the show with the bat, the former smashing four sixes from four balls in the final over to put a fitting end to a quite remarkable match at the Eden Gardens.
West Indies had needed 19 off that final Ben Stokes over, but Brathwaite clattered the ball to all parts of the ground in a stunning display of power hitting.
The Windies had won the toss and chose to bowl first against the big-hitting English order, and they got the fast start they so sorely craved.
Jason Roy was the man of the match in England’s semi-final thanks to a sublime knock of 78, but the opener was sent packing on just the second ball by the impressive Samuel Badree (2-16), who beat the inside edge to find Roy’s stumps.
And it got worse before it got better for Morgan’s men. Alex Hales finally made good contact with an Andre Russell delivery, but he played it straight into the grateful hands of Badree to leave England on 8-2
But England still had their star man Joe Root to call upon, and it’s safe to say he was carrying a lot of expectation after the disastrous start. The young man certainly delivered the goods, although his partners weren’t quite up to scratch.
Morgan fell foul to another excellent Badree delivery for five, while Stokes and Moeen Ali also failed to make an impact. Root’s wicket eventually fell for 54, making him the highest England scorer in a World T20 tournament.
At 111/7 after Root’s departure, it was a case of trying to make every ball count for England.
David Willey came in and tried to slog his way to a big score, but when he tried to knock a slower Brathwaite delivery out the door, he played it straight at Johnson Charles.
England eventually posted 155-9 after 20 overs, which was a decent haul given their slow start.
Still, giving the West Indies just over 150 to win the match is never wise, and Darren Sammy’s men came to the crease looking to prove their worth straight from the off.
The opening partnership of Chris Gayle and Charles is enough to strike fear into any bowler, but when Willey conceded just one run in the first over, the nerves looked to be settled.
Captain Morgan then made a decision to send Root in to bowl, and it had plenty of fans scratching their heads. But one ball later, it was officially declared a masterstroke.
Root’s slow, spinning delivery was tossed up into the air by Charles and straight down the neck of Stokes, who easily took the catch.
The momentum was well and truly with the West Indies as they moved towards the 15 over mark, but Willey soon spoiled the party. He took out Russell and Sammy in the 15th to leave the West Indies on 107-6 and needed 49 runs to win.
Samuels and Brathwaite were the men tasked with taking the West Indies over the line, yet bowling from the likes of Chris Jordan was too good to slog out the park.
West Indies were handed the task of chalking up 19 runs to win from the final over with Stokes to bowl, and although England would have been confident, Brathwaite sprung into life and secured the trophy.
He knocked four enormous sixes into the crowd to make light work of Stokes' attempted yorkers and send his teammates into celebrations on the sideline.
