ICC World Twenty 20: The Final

West Indies beat hosts to win World T20

7/10/12-West Indies 137-6 20 overs (Samuels 78, A. Mendis 4-12) beat Sri Lanka 101 all out 18.4 overs (Narine 3-9) by 36 runs @ Colombo

West Indies have beaten the hosts Sri Lanka by 36 runs, to win the 2012 ICC World Twenty 20 in Colombo.

Darren Sammy won the toss for the West Indies, and despite the threat of rain later in the game, he elected to bat first. There were no changes to the Windies line up, but Sri Lanka brought in Akila Dananjaya in place of former Surrey spinner Rangana Herath. Sammy would have immediately regretted that decision, as Johnson Charles was out in the first over of the match, skying the ball to Kulesakera off Mathews without scoring.

West Indies struggled to get going, as it took until the 3^rd over for the first run off the bat, and the 4^thbefore a boundary. And when Ajantha Mendis was brought on in the 6^thover, the mystery spinner trapped the danger man Chris Gayle LBW for a painstaking 3 off 16 balls, as the West Indies scored just 14 off the powerplay. It got no better for the West Indies, as they could only reach 32 off of 10 overs, with just that one earlier boundary, as the spin of A. Mendis and Dananjaya were proving extremely difficult to play.

Birthday boy Dwayne Bravo finally hit another boundary in the 12^th over, launching Dananjaya for the first six of the final. Marlon Samuels then launched Malinga for three sixes in an over as the West Indies finally built some momentum, reaching 69-2 off 13 overs. However, Mendis then had Bravo LBW for 19, becoming the leading wicket taker in the tournamentin the process.

Samuels was still at the crease, and brought up his half century off 46 balls with his 4^th six, but he lost his partner when Dananjaya caught Pollard at the second attempt to give Mendis his 3^rdwicket. He then removed Andre Russell very next ball, as he finished with superb figures of 4-12. Samuels carried on however, launching Malinga for 2 more sixes, including the biggest of the tournament spanning a massive 108 metres. But on 78, Samuels was caught on the rope looking for another six, just when it looked like West Indies would post a half decent score. But thanks to a quickfire 26 from captain Sammy, the West Indies posted a competitive 137-6. A score that looked a million miles off earlier on.

The West Indies knew that early wickets would be key, and Ravi Rampaul delivered as he bowled Dilshan without scoring with an absolute beauty. They could have got off to an even better start, but Bravo dropped Jayawardene in the deep off of the spin of Marlon Samuels.  Sangakarra joined his skipper at the crease,and even though they were not batting electrically, they were making sure they didn’t lose any further wickets.

However, the spin of Sunil Narine immediately troubled the experienced pair, and even though he didn’t get the wicket himself, the pressure he applied drew Sangakarra into a false shot, where he was caught inthe deep of Samuel Badree. Sri Lanka 48-2 in the 10^th, and the game was well and truly on. Sammy then brought himself on and duly bowled Mathews, as the required rate rose to almost 9 and a half an over.

West Indies were taking control of the game, and could have had it all but won, but Jayawardene was once again dropped in the deep, this time by Russell, as the hosts still held hopes of victory. But in the very next over, the West Indies finally held onto Jayawardene as he attempted a reverse sweep, and the game was all but up. Narine then combined with Bravo to run out Jeevan Mendis, as Sri Lanka stumbled to 61-5 in the 13^th over.Perera was then brilliantly run out by Dinesh Ramdin, and Thirimane caught in the deep, as West Indians all over the world would have started their celebrations. After Kulesakera gave them a little scare with an innings of 26, West Indies won by 36 runs after bowling Sri Lanka out for 101.

A fantastic win for the West Indies, and after being 14-2 off the powerplay, it must go down as one of the greatest comebacks in Twenty20 history. They looked down and out, but Marlon Samuels was simply superb with the bat, almost single handily winning the tournament for his side. Sri Lanka would have been the first side to win the ICC World T20 on home territory, and after 15 overs of the Windies innings, most people would have backed them. But it wasn’t to be, as star players such as Malinga and Sangakarra failed to make an impact, as West Indies took advantage fantastically.

Man of the Match: Marlon Samuels for his outstanding innings of 78. The only batsman on show who adapted to the pitch and pressure of a final well, and God knows how many West Indies would have got if he wasn’t playing. Absolutely superb.