West Indies are the kings of T20 cricket

After 11 overs in their innings, West Indies were 38-2. WI had played out 43 dot balls — 43 out of 66 balls bowled. It was a shocking start to the final of the World T20. It had taken them 17 balls to score the first run off the bat. The first boundary came after 19 deliveries and the first six of the match came only after 68 balls. This wasn’t the West Indies we knew; this wasn’t the West Indies that smashed sixes left, right and centre. Even more shocking was the manner in which Chris Gayle was shackled. The left-hander as it now customary – left the first ball alone and defended a few more. Marlon Samuels wasn’t getting anything away either. They weren’t even getting singles. [caption id=“attachment_482351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Samuels’ innings took WI to a respectable total. AP[/caption] Then finally, after 5.5 overs, Gayle fell, trapped leg before by Ajantha Mendis. The jubilation in the stands knew no bounds. Sri Lanka had got Gayle and for the second time in the tournament, they had got him cheaply. Sri Lanka were on their way and how. But today, the West Indies stood up as a team. They showed that they weren’t just a one-man team as they have often been accused of being. The rest of the batsmen led by the sublime Samuels (78 off 56 balls, 6x6 and 4x3) showed just what they could achieve against the odds. Samuels started off just like Gayle but there was a vital difference. He managed to keep getting the singles. And then in the 13th over of the innings, he exploded – smashing three sixes of Lasith Malinga to kickstart the West Indies comeback. In fact, he singled out Malinga for some pretty harsh treatment; hammering 39 runs (including 5 sixes) in the 11 balls he faced from the fast bowler. From 39 at the end of the 11th over, West Indies went into manic mode to reach 137-6. In the eyes of all those watching, it wasn’t a winning total. But it gave them a chance and sometimes that’s all you need. Sri Lanka came out knowing that they needed to keep things steady to begin with. They lost Dilshan early but Mahela and Sangakkara steadied things to take the score to 48 before the left-hander fell to Badree. The wicket set into motion a sensational collapse – from 48-1 to 69-7 in the space of 30 balls. Nuwan Kulasekara gave it a mighty swing in the end with a 13-ball 26 but when he fell – the silence in the stands told you it was over. It was rather poor batting by the Sri Lankans but full credit to the West Indians for the manner in which they fought back. In the end, the pressure was too much for the hosts. They were bowled out for 101. West Indies become third team – after India and Pakistan- to win both Cricket World Cup and World Twenty20 tournaments. To really know how long it’s been since West Indies dominated cricket – fathom this (courtesy @mohanstatsman): None of the WI players in the current World Cup winning squad were born when WI last won the World Cup in 1979. Yes, it’s been a while but welcome back. ‏The West Indies promised to rock Colombo if they won and if you know them, then the party is just getting started.