West Indies celebrates their maiden ICC World Twenty20 title victory
West Indies defeated Sri Lanka by 36 runs in a low-scoring final to clinch their maiden World Twenty20 title at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.
In purist of a 138-run target, Sri Lanka were dismissed for 101 runs in 18.4 overs.
Struggling against disciplined West Indian bowling attack, Sri Lanka lost their seven wickets for 70 runs in 15 overs.
Barring skipper Mahela Jayawardene (33), Nuwan Kulasekara (26) and Kumar Sangakkara (22) the rest of other Lankan batsmen failed to reach double-figures.
Magical off-spinner Sunil Narine (3-26) was the chief-in-destroyer of Sri Lankan batting line up. Skipper Darren Sammy (2-6), Marlon Samuels (1-15), Samuel Badree (1-24) and Ravi Rampual (1-31) were also responsible for sinking Sri Lanka.
Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan failed to open his account and bowled out for Rampual’s swinging low-pitch delivery before Jayawardene and Sangakkara steadied the innings with a sagacious batting display.
However, Sangakkara’s dismissal off Badree in 10th over sparked a comprehensive collapse in Sri Lankan batting line-up and their wickets started felling like pack of cards.
Angelo Mathews (1), Jeevan Mendis (3), Thissara Perera (3), Lahiru Thirimanne (4), Lasith Malinga (5) and Ajantha Mendis (1) all were unable to offer resistance.
Earlier, Sri Lanka off-spinner claimed four wickets for 12 runs but Samuels’ blistering 56-ball 78 helped West Indies to post 137-6.
Samuels’s vindicating knock was laced with half-dozen sixes and three boundaries.
Electing to bat, West Indies got off to a miserable start and lost openers Johnson Charles (0) and flamboyant Chris Gayle (3) with just 14 runs in six overs.
Thanks to some vigilant bowling from Sri Lankan bowlers, West Indies crawled to 32-2 off 10 overs but Samuels’ onslaught helped West Indies to add 105 runs in last 10 overs.
Samuels took West Indies to 73-3 in 14 overs in the company of Dwayne Bravo (19) but latter’s dismissal triggered a mini-collapse as Kieron Pollard (2) and Andre Russell (0) perished to Mendis in successive balls.
Samuels was particulary ruthless against paceman Lasith Malinga, to whom he smashed a boundary and two consecutive sixes to leave the pacer with ugly figures of 0-54 from his four overs.
Samuels’ glorious innings came to an end in the 18th over when he holed out to Mendis off Nuwan Kulasekara.
Sammy plundered unbeaten 26 off 15 balls with the help of three boundaries to thrust the scoreboard.
