Flashback: T20 World Cup 2012 final

After failing to reach the semi-final stage in the first three T20 World Cup tournaments, West Indies finally ended their wait and reached the final of the fourth edition of the tournament in 2012. Sri Lanka, the tournament hosts, were always favourites to reach the final with a star-studded squad led by Mahela Jayawardene.

Both Sri Lanka and West Indies faced each other in the group stages where the Asian giants registered a big win after an uneaten fifty by Jayawardene. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the first semi-final clash by 16 runs to book a spot in the final. West Indies dominated Australia with a big 74-run win in the second semi-final clash to book a final date with Sri Lanka on October 7, 2012.

West Indies skipper Daren Sammy won the toss and elected to bat first at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. But Angelo Matthews dismissed Johnson Charles in the first over and in-from spinner Ajantha Mendis took a big wicket of Chris Gayle in the powerplay overs to give Sri Lanka a flying start.

Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo pulled off a crucial 59-run partnership for the third wicket to keep West Indies on track for a challenging total. But Mendis continued his red-hot form with three more wickets to restrict the Caribbean team to just 137/6. Samuels scored the highest 78 runs off 56 balls and Mendis took four wickets for Sri Lanka while conceding only 14 runs from his four-over spell.

West Indies also started well with Ravi Rampaul taking a big wicket of Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over. But star duo of Kumar Sangakkara and Jayawardene then formed a 42-run partnership for the second wicket to put the hosts on an easy chase to a small 138-run target.

But Sunil Narine and Daren Sammy bowled match-winning spells to bowl out Sri Lanka on just 101 runs 18.4 overs and guided West Indies to their first-ever T20 World Cup trophy. Narine took three wickets while conceding just nine runs and Sammy grabbed two wickets for six runs. Marlon Samuels won the player of the match award for scoring defining 78 runs and for a wicket of Mendis with the ball.

Mendis registered most 15 wickets in the tournament while Australian all-rounder Shane Watson won the player of the tournament award for scoring the highest 249 runs and taking 11 wickets.