West Indies win T20 World Cup after defeating Sri Lanka

Source: cricinfo.com   

• West Indies (Samuels 78, Sammy 26*) 6-137 def. Sri Lanka (Jayawardene 33, Kulasekara 26) 10-101

Summary:

In front of a sell-out home crowd of 35,000, the Sri Lankan's were on the verge of etching their own cricket folklore amongst their fans. It was the West Indies who won the toss and elected to bat first. A horror start with the bat, that included a wicket maiden in the opening over, left the West Indies middle order scrambling for whatever runs they could muster.

Opener Johnson Charles was caught for a duck after 5 balls off AD Mathews. Chris Gayle (3) followed shortly after being found out LBW for the first of Mendis' 4 wickets. Mendis also grabbed the wickets of Bravo (19), Pollard (2) and Russell (0). It took the West Indies an astonishing 12.2 overs to reach 50 runs.

It was left up to Samuels (78) and Sammy (26*) to revive the innings and finish with a defensible total of 137.

The Sri Lankan's innings started in similar fashion to the West Indies. Dilshan was gone for a duck and the home nation were 1-6. Jayawardene (33) and Sangakkara (22) steadied the ship after a wobbly start. Once Sangakkara fell the score was 2-48. In a matter of 5 overs they were 7-69 and the collapse had well and truly crippled the Sri Lankan's hopes of snatching victory in front of their home crowd.

Despite staring into the eyes of defeat, they fought on gallantly before being bowled all out for 101.

THE WEST INDIES ARE CROWNED TWENTY20 WORLD CHAMPIONS.

Best of the Batsmen:

West Indies

-You can't go past Marlon Samuels whose 78 off 56 balls included six 6's. His innings set up the win for the Windies.

-Darren Sammy's 26 not out supported Samuels and went a long way to bringing the West Indies back into the game.

-Despite Bravo, no other West Indies batsmen cracked double figures.

Sri Lanka

-The same goes for the Sri Lankan's, only 3 batsmen cracked double figures and not one went onto make a half century.

-Jayawardene top scored for the home team with 33 off 36 balls.

-It was Kulasekara who was the most explosive when his team needed him most. 26 off 13 balls, three 4's and a 6.

Best of the Bowlers:

West Indies:

-Two men stood out, Darren Sammy 2-6 off 2 overs and Sunil Narine 3-9 off 3.4 overs. These two men were mostly responsible for the middle order collapse of the Sri Lankan batsmen. Game changers.

-Marlon Samuels capped off a brilliant display with the bat with a nice 1-14 off his 4 overs.

-Ravi Rampaul bowled a sizzler to take out Dilshan's stumps for a duck.

Sri Lanka

-Ajantha Mendis was the pick of the bowlers by far for the Sri Lankan's. Finishing with 4-12 off 4 overs. An outstanding effort.

-Angelo Mathews first over was quite special. A wicket maiden in the opening over of a World Cup Final is extraordinary.

The match was played on a see-saw. The result seemed to be unpredictable for much of the match. The marvellous start by the Sri Lankan bowlers saw the West Indies crumble early but they fought back hard and posted a nice score. The same went for the Sri Lankan's, they were pushed from the beginning but fought back before a massive batting collapse, only to be lifted again by some gallant tail end batting. The West Indies were deserved winners on the night, despite their big guns such as Gayle and Pollard being unable to fire, they were able to run away with the win due to the fighting will of each player.

The Votes:

3 - Marlon Samuels (West Indies) MAN OF THE MATCH HANDS DOWN! 78 runs and a wicket means WOW.

2 - Darren Sammy (West Indies) 26 not out with the bat plus 2-6 with the ball was an all round great display.

1 - Ajantha Mendis (Sri Lanka) This man was the pick of the bowlers from both teams. 4-12 off his 4 overs was a fantastic showcase of spin-bowling.

The Tucker Trophy

3 - The Sri Lankan middle order, Mathews (1), Mendis (3), Perera (3) and Thirimanne (4). The runs say it all.

2 - Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) 0-54 off 4 overs. Going for an average of 13.50 an over in a World Cup final is unacceptable if are looking to become a World Champion.

1 - Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) made a duck off his 3 balls. Was the first of too many misfiring Sri Lankan batsmen.

It has been a marvellous Twenty20 World Cup and Thank you all for tuning into our match reports.

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