There is something about the Eden Gardens and big moments. One of the most iconic cricket stadiums in the world, it was a perfect setting for the final of the ICC World T20. Though the hosts did not feature in the title clash, a raucous crowd greeted both West Indies and England which added to the drama.
Darren Sammy’s luck with the toss continued and he opted to chase again. Samuel Badree set the tone for the Caribbean side with a brilliant showing as England somehow managed to muster a fighting total.
But, no score is safe when the opposition have deadly fire-power in their ranks. Marlon Samuels showed the way with a match-winning knock and Carlos Brathwaite soaked up the pressure to deliver the finishing blow as West Indies became the first team to win the 20-overs title twice.
Let us take a look at what each player did in the nerve-wracking contest and who stood out from the rest.
West Indies
Carlos Brathwaite – 9.5/10
He is quite an useful cricketer to have in the dressing room. Aside from aggressive cameos with the bat, Brathwaite can also bowl at a deceptive pace. The England batsmen struggled against his relentless accuracy in a bid to up the ante.
Carlos broke the partnership between Root and Buttler which was threatening to blossom by luring the latter into mistiming one. He followed it up by dismissing the dangerous Root and also picked up Willey who was seeking to provide the finishing kick.
But, he was not done yet. The burly all-rounder smacked Stokes for four successive sixes in the final over to make a mockery of the equation and leave England shell-shocked. A delighted Ian Bishop exploded on commentary, ‘Remember the name Brathwaite’. After his exploits, the world certainly will.
Marlon Samuels – 9/10
Marlon Samuels has been an enigmatic character and no one is sure when he comes to the party. Capable of covering the entire spectrum, Samuels reminded the onlookers about his unflappable temperament.
Evoking nostalgic feelings of a sensational innings in the 2012 final of the World T20, Samuels mixed caution with aggression to keep England at bay. Despite wickets falling at the other end, the 35-year old displayed tremendous match awareness to lead West Indies to glory.
Samuel Badree – 9/10
Ranked number 1 in the shortest format of the sport, Badree is a force to be reckoned with in T20Is. After a stellar outing in the semi-final against India on a batting surface, he was at it again.
Operating in the Power Play, the leg-spinner spun a web around the England top-order from which they could never recover. Badree scalped Roy and Morgan in quick succession with a remarkable spell to seize the momentum for his team.
Dwayne Bravo – 7.5/10
An entertainer both on and off the field, Dwayne Bravo backed up all his talk by picking up three wickets to restrict England. He also gave Samuels admirable support as the duo fought back hard to offset the loss of early wickets.
Andre Russell – 7/10
Russell’s biggest asset is pace, be it with either bat or ball. He can clock serious miles to outsmart any batsman and come back to give the ball a massive whack. Completing the package is his electric fielding.
On a decisive night, Russell was brilliant in the bowling department with a whole-hearted effort. After snaring the belligerent Hales, he tightened the screws by bringing all his variations into play.
Darren Sammy – 2/10
Not having much to do with either bat or ball throughout the tournament, Sammy had to suddenly contribute in both departments. After bowling a lackluster over, the West Indies skipper played an irresponsible shot when his team needed him to chip in. Nevertheless, he marshaled his troops with integrity and lifted the trophy.
Chris Gayle – 1/10
Chris Gayle is something of a cult hero in these parts. After beginning the competition by smashing England into pulp at the Wankhede Stadium, the 36-year old could not repeat his heroics. At the big stage, the left-hander was snaffled by Joe Root of all bowlers, leaving the crowd in dismay.
Johnson Charles – 1/10
After a mature half-century which helped West Indies wrest control of the semi-finals, Charles began the final by adopting a cautious approach against David Willey. When Root was introduced into the attack, he played a terrible shot this time to put his team in a spot of bother.
Suleiman Benn – 1/10
Usually coming into bowl in the middle-overs, Benn was summoned to sustain the intensity inside the Power Play. However, his wayward line meant that Joe Root began to settle down even in a difficult situation.
After conceding 14 runs from his opening over, the tall left-arm spinner was taken apart further by Buttler as he allowed England to find a way back. Left without any option, Sammy had to bring himself on to complete the fifth bowler’s quota.
Lendl Simmons – 1/10
Match-winner one day, inadequate the next one. Lendl Simmons rode on his luck to enable West Indies edge past India in Mumbai. But, he could not cope with the skill of Willey and succumbed to the in-swinger.
Denesh Ramdin – N/A
England
David Willey – 9/10
Willey was primarily in the team because of his potential with the new-ball. But, he shone with the bat as he added some vital runs at the end overs, courtesy some lusty blows. The seam bowler bowled beautifully at the start and trapped the in-form Simmons with late swing.
The left-arm pacer proceeded to remove the hard-hitting duo of Russell and Sammy with his impeccable control. When he was finished with his spell, Willey had placed England in the ascendancy.
Joe Root – 9/10
Widely acclaimed to be amongst the most versatile batsmen in the modern game, Joe Root had been the back bone of England’s campaign throughout the tournament. The star batsman showed his tremendous resolve as he gave his bowlers something to defend.
Root tried to build partnerships with his peers by running vigorously between the wickets. He kept the scoreboard ticking and also put the bad balls away to the boundary. It took an awkward scoop shot to bring an end to a conventional knock. Surprisingly, his golden touch was transferred to the ball as well with a couple of huge wickets.
Adil Rashid – 8/10
Rashid extracted some turn to plant a few questions on the back of the batsmen’s minds. He flighted the ball and used the googly to great effect as the West Indies batsmen were not able to put him away. The leg-spinner soon got his reward when he forced Bravo into playing an ugly hoick.
Chris Jordan – 7/10
Chris Jordan’s role in the England setup is to land the yorkers in the block-hole repeatedly and prevent the opposition batsmen from finding their range. He did exactly that as he came back from an indifferent start to concede only 15 runs from the 17th and 19th over combined.
Jos Buttler – 6/10
A dynamic batsman who is a clean hitter of the cricket ball, Buttler showed a sense of responsibility after arriving onto a rather treacherous situation. He dispatched a half-tracker from Bravo to the point boundary and looked ominous.
When Benn came on for his second spell, the wicket-keeper batsman made his intentions pretty clear. Buttler plundered three sixes off Benn and attempted to provide an impetus to the England innings. But, his stay was cut short after he failed to latch on to a good length delivery.
Liam Plunkett – 5/10
Plunkett adds an extra yard of pace to the England attack. Judging the way in which he began, things appeared to be promising for the pacer. However, his inaccurate final over kick started the West Indies’ surge in the business stage of the match.
Eoin Morgan – 2/10
There was a plenty of talk surrounding the England’s captain’s poor run with the bat and how the Windies wanted to exploit it to their advantage. And, what happened was fairly predictable too.
Badree was extremely difficult to get away during the opening stages of the match as Morgan walked into the firing line with England hobbling at 8/2. The 29-year old seemed out of depth against the turning ball and his uncomfortable stay ended when he edged the wrist-spinner to slip.
Moeen Ali – 1/10
Moeen has a reputation of being a batting all-rounder. However off-late, he has been unable to justify his position with the willow. Ali floundered again by tickling a short ball to the wicket-keeper.
Alex Hales – 1/10
The lanky batsman was hailed as one of England’s finest limited-overs cricketers currently going around. Coming into the match on the back of dismal form, his fortunes did not turn around in the final.
Having seen his opening partner perish in the first over, Hales should have worked the ball around and looked to establish a partnership with Joe Root. However, his eyes lit up on seeing a juicy half-volley around his pads and he duly found the fielder at short fine leg.
Jason Roy – 1/10
A lot was expected of young Jason Roy as England wanted to begin the match on a positive note. He had set the ball rolling during the epic run-chase against South Africa and also smashed the Kiwis en route to the summit clash.
But, he appeared to be absolutely clueless against the canny leg-spin of Badree. After surviving a close LBW shout, Roy was caught stuck in the crease as a flatter and quicker delivery crashed on to the stumps.
Ben Stokes – 1/10
Stokes has often admitted that he revels in crunch moments. England badly needed him to rise to the occasion once again and resurrect their ship. But, the all-rounder could not do much with the bat and was deceived by a slower bouncer.
With 19 runs to defend off the last over, Stokes conceded four sixes in as many balls to leave England crestfallen. The way in which he sunk to his knees at the end of that ill-fated over showed that the moment was going to haunt him for some time.
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