A Caribbean classic in Kolkata

 What was billed as the clash between two batting power-houses eventually turned out to be a battle of nerves; a fitting finale for the World T20.

Needing 19 off the final over, not many had given West Indies a chance but Carlos Brathwaite unleashed a sensational assault on paceman Ben Stokes —  tasked with the responsibility of taking England home — that had the capacity crowd eating out of his hands.

Brathwaite flicked the first ball over deep backward square leg for six to inject some life in to the contest. The second one went sailing over long on in to the crowd. With equation now reduced to seven from four, Brathwaite deposited the third ball over long-off for a third six. Match tied. Everyone in the stadium was on his/her feet, screaming for another sixer and Brathwaite obliged, slamming Stokes for the fourth consecutive six. Match over.

Stokes was on his knees with his head covered in disbelief and his heart broken while the West Indies were going nuts. And why not! They had become the first team to win the World T20 title for the second time and the icing on the cake was their women’s team’s maiden title triumph earlier in the day.

While no praise can be too high for Brathwaite, it was man of the match Marlon Samuels (85 n.o., 66b, 9x4, 2x6) who kept West Indies in the game and helped them cross the line. For the record, West Indies finished their innings at 161 for six in 19.4 overs after restricting England to 155/9 here at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

True to their template, West Indies, after winning the toss, opted to bowl first. While West Indies would have backed themselves to chase any total, they were in for a pleasant surprise when England’s mighty batting line-up keeled over cheaply. Samuel Badree (2/16) got West Indies off to fine start while Carlos Brathwaite (3/23) and Dwayne Bravo (3/37) kept pegging away as England could muster no more than 155/9; thanks largely to Joe Root’s industrious 54 (36b, 7x4).

England’s hopes of posting a big total took one blow after another as Badree continued his magical run. After setting up opener Jason Roy with a googly, Badree slid one straight and Roy, trifle late to react, saw his leg-stump clattered. The leg-spinner then ended Eoin Morgan’s brief stay with a googly which took the outside edge for Gayle to complete a simple catch.

Before Badree put an end to Morgan’s misery, Andre Russell had dismissed Alex Hales whose attempted flick had resulted in a straightforward catch at short fine-leg. Though the delivery on the leg begged to be punished, Hales somehow managed to pick the lone man in the region.

England found themselves in a deep hole as they managed to see off powerplays at 33/3, the lowest score during this period by them in this World T20. Joe Root and Jos Buttler, other two in-form batsmen, provided some stability with a 61-run stand for the fourth wicket in 40 balls. While Root kept the score board ticking without taking any risk, Buttler was aggressive in his approach.

The two batsmen took a particular liking to Sulieman Benn who was carted around for 40 runs in his first three overs. Root creamed the left-arm spinner for a couple of fours while Buttler clubbed him for three sixes as England appeared lift themlseves from the deep morass they were in. An inspired bowling change, however, caused another England collapse and this time even more crippling.

Brathwaite, back in the attack after being taken off after just one over, dug one short but Buttler’s pull fell into the safe hands of Bravo at deep mid-wicket. The right-hander’s dismissal not only halted England’s recovery but triggered off a mini procession of batsmen. Bravo scalped Benn Stokes and Moeen Ali in the space two balls while Brathwaite dismissed their last hope Root, whose paddle sweep was snapped by a diving Benn at short fine-leg.

From 110 for four to 111 for seven, England had lost three wickets for just one run and all of their specialist batsmen. If not for David Willey’s swinging (21 off 14b, 1x4, 2x6), England’s total would have looked even more anaemic on that surface.

score board

England
Roy b Badree    0
(2b)
Hales c Badree b Russell    1
(3b)
Root c Benn b Brathwaite    54
(36b, 7x4)
Morgan c Gayle b Badree    5
(12b, 1x4)
Buttler c Bravo b Brathwaite    36
(22b, 1x4, 3X6)
Stokes c Simmons b Bravo    13
(8b, 1x4)
Ali c Ramdin b Bravo    0
(2b)
Jordan (not out)    12
(13b, 1x4)
Willey c Charles b Brathwaite    21
(14b, 1x4, 2x6)
Plunkett c Badree  b Bravo    4
(4b)
Rashid (not out)    4
(4b)
Extras (LB-4, W-1)    5
Total (For 9 wkts in 20 overs)    155
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Roy), 2-8 (Hales), 3-23 (Morgan), 4-84 (Buttler), 5-110 (Stokes), 6-110 (Ali), 7-111 (Root), 8-136 (Willey), 9-142 (Plunkett).
Bowling: Badree 4-1-16-2, Russell 4-0-21-1, Benn 3-0-40-0, Bravo 4-0-37-3, Brathwaite 4-0-23-3 (W-1), Sammy 1-0-14-0.
WEST INDIES
Charles c Stokes b Root    1
(7b)
Gayle c Stokes b Root    4
(2b, 1x4)
Samuels (not out)    85
(66b, 9x4, 2x6)
Simmons lbw Willey    0
(1b)
Bravo c Root b Rashid    25
(27b, 1x4, 1x6)
Russell c Stokes b Willey    1
(3b)
Sammy c Hales b Willey    2
(2b)
Brathwaite (not out)    34
(10b, 1x4, 4x6)
Extras (LB-3, W-6)    9
Total (for 6 wkts, 19.4 overs)    161
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Charles), 2-5 (Gayle), 3-11 (Simmons), 4-86 (Bravo), 5-104 (Russell), 6-107 (Sammy).
Bowling: Willey 4-0-20-3 (w-2), Root 1-0-9-2, Jordan 4-0-36-0 (w-1), Plunkett 4-0-29-0 (w-1), Rashid 4-0-23-1, Stokes 2.4-0-41-0 (w-2).