Flashback: T20 World Cup 2016 final
India hosted the sixth edition of the T20 World Cup tournament after their disappointing defeat in the final against Sri Lanka in the previous edition. As a host nation, India were strong contenders to lift the trophy but they failed to reach the final after a poor bowling performance in the semi-final clash.
West Indies, champions of the 2012 edition, beat India in the semi-final clash to book a place in the final. They finished as toppers in the Super 10 Group 1 table with three wins from four games with consistently impressive performance under Daren Sammy’s leadership. England beat New Zealand with a dominant display to reach the final of the tournament. England had suffered a big six-wicket loss against West Indies in the group-stage fixture after Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 100-run knock while chasing a big 183-run target.
England captain Eoin Morgan lost the toss and his team were forced to bat first at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. West Indies’ decision to bowl first proved an instant success as Samuel Badree bowled out star opener Jason Roy on duck in the first over and Andre Russell dismissed Alex Hales in the second over.
England lost their captain Eoin Morgan on just five runs in the fifth over and they were struggling at 23/3 in 4.4 overs. But the star English batter Joe Root and wicketkeeper batter Jos Buttler formed a crucial 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket to keep England alive in the game.
Root smashed the highest 54 runs off just 36 balls and Buttler scored 36 runs off 22 balls but England managed to score only 155/9 in 20 overs. For West Indies, Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite took three wickets each and Badree grabbed two for 16.
While defending a 156-run target, England also started extremely well. Joe Root, bowling an innings second over, dismissed both West Indies openers Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle with just five runs on the scorecard. David Willey removed Lendl Simmons in the next over to put England in firm control of the game.
But Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo avoided the further fall with a 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Willey took two more wickets from Andre Russell and Daren Sammy’s dismissals in the middle overs to put England ahead again. Marlon Samuels scored unbeaten 85 runs off 66 balls to drag West Indies closer to the target.
West Indies needed 19 runs from the last over to win the cup and Carlos Brathwaite smashed four consecutive sixes on Ben Stokes’ first four deliveries to finish the game with four wickets and two balls remaining. Samuels won the player of the match for his 85-run knock and Indian star Virat Kohli won the player of the tournament for scoring 273 runs from just five innings.
