April 3, 2016
Brief Scorecard: West Indies 161 for 6 (Samuels 85*, Brathwaite 34*, Willey 3-20) beat England 155 for 9 (Root 54, Brathwaite 3-23, Bravo 3-37) by four wickets
Eden Gardens delighted in West Indies' celebrations © Getty Images
April 3, 2016
Brief Scorecard: West Indies 161 for 6 (Samuels 85*, Brathwaite 34*, Willey 3-20) beat England 155 for 9 (Root 54, Brathwaite 3-23, Bravo 3-37) by four wickets
Eden Gardens delighted in West Indies' celebrations © Getty Images
Eden Gardens, Kolkata – Carlos Brathwaite struck four sixes in the final over as West Indies beat England by four wickets to win a thrilling World T20 final in Kolkata, becoming the first team to win the tournament twice.
With 19 needed from Ben Stokes' final over, Brathwaite (34 off 10 balls) struck four sixes from the first four balls to emphatically win it for the West Indies.
Joe Root top-scored for England with 54 off 36 balls as England set West Indies 156 to win, and then took the wickets of Johnson Charles and dangerman Chris Gayle in the second over of the West Indies reply.
David Willey also put in an impressive all-round effort, hitting 21 off 14 balls – with two sixes – before taking 3-20 with the ball as England seemingly seemed set to win.
But Marlon Samuels (85no off 66) – called back after initially being given out on 27 edging Liam Plunkett behind but the ball bouncing on its way into Jos Buttler's gloves – helped his side recover before Brathwaite's heroics won it.
After the West Indies won the toss and bowled first, Samuel Badree (2-16) had England in a spin early on, bowling Jason Roy second ball, and adding the scalp of Eoin Morgan – caught at slip – in the fifth over as England got off to a dreadful start, Alex Hales also falling cheaply to Andre Russell.
Buttler and Root counter-attacked, feasting on Sulieman Benn's bowling in particular, taking his three overs for 40, with Buttler launching the slow-left-armer for three sixes, two in the 11th over.
But Buttler was gone in the next over, picking out Bravo on the deep midwicket boundary off Brathwaite.
England then lost three wickets in five balls to further derail their innings, Stokes (13) and Moeen Ali falling in the same Dwayne Bravo (3-35) over and Brathwaite (3-23) adding the key wicket of Root soon after to see England slip from 110-4 to 111-7.
Darren Sammy said West Indies won the tournament against the odds, and despite lack of support from the WICB – Getty Images
Willey bashed Bravo for two sixes in the 17th over to help England creep towards a credible score, and then bowled five dot balls in his first over with the ball to apply the pressure further.
That pressure told, as Charles skied Root's first ball of the second over to mid-on, and Gayle did the same to long-off, Stokes safely pouching both catches.
Willey then removed West Indies' superstar from their semi-final win over India, Lendl Simmons, for a first-ball duck, trapped lbw by the left-armer's trademark inswinger.
Samuels led the West Indian recovery, striking Chris Jordan for three fours in the sixth over, but was very nearly out to Plunkett in the seventh before being called back.
He put on 75 for the fourth wicket with Bravo (25 off 27) – dropped by substitute fielder Sam Billings when on 11 – but a ball after Samuels brought up his personal half-century off 47 balls, Bravo skied Adil Rashid to Root at backward point.
Samuels, unfazed, took 18 from Plunkett's following over – striking a four and back-to-back sixes – but then a stunning Stokes catch at deep midwicket, and a Hales grab at deep cover, got rid of Russell and Darren Sammy in Willey's 16th to again swing the game in England's favour.
But Samuels and Brathwaite took the game to a final over, and despite a lofty 19 runs needed, Brathwaite blasted Stokes for four sixes to break English hearts and spark West Indian celebrations.
Courtesy: Sky Sports
