Emotions were running high post West Indies’ remarkable nerve-wrecking 4-wicket victory over England in the final of the ICC World T20 2016.
After all, several dreams were realized, both of the players as well as of the Caribbean fans who had grown tired of watching their team being loathed by every newbie and oldie alike throughout the cricketing world.
Carlos Brathwaite did the unthinkable by smashing 4 sixes off the last four balls of the tournament when his team needed 19 off the last over to help the Windies win the title for the second time.
The hero of the match, however, was Marlon Samuels who exploded both on and off the field, first with his brilliant unbeaten knock of 85 to guide his side home, and then post the game, venting out his emotions against his critics.
This World T20 saw the underdogs lift the championship, the associates excel in an unprecedented manner, and the man of the tournament, who broke all sorts of T20 records en route carrying his team to the semi-finals amongst other things.
Here, we recount 5 dreams that were realized at the ICC World T20 2016.
1. Oman’s first ever World T20 win
In the qualifying round, the Group A match between Ireland and Oman was widely expected to be a one-sided affair.
Not only did Ireland boast of a much experienced T20 side as compared to their opponents, they also had the experience of playing in the World T20s before. Hence, when a total of 155 was raised, it was expected to be too much for the Oman side.
What transpired, however, not only showed how unpredictable the shortest format of the game can be, but also emphasized upon the potential that some of the Affiliate nations had in store.
While Khawar Ali and Zeeshan Maqsood gave Oman a whirlwind start, and Jatinder Singh held the innings together while wickets were tumbling at the other end, it was Amir Ali, the bespectacled hero, who led the side to victory with a breathtaking knock of 34 off just 17 balls with 5 fours and a six.
Oman not just defied the odds in the game, but also earned their first ever win in an ICC global tournament playing their first World T20.
2. Afghanistan upset the West Indies
If there has been one Associate nation that has impressed everyone the most, it has been Afghanistan.
Their cent percent win record in the qualifying stages of the tournament saw the blossoming of their long-term professionals, in Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, and Dawlat Zadran amongst others, as well as a bright new star in Rashid Khan.
The 17-year-old leg-spinner, Rashid, bagged 11 wickets in the tournament, including the 2/26 that he took against the eventual champions West Indies, which included the wicket of Marlon Samuels, that helped the Asian nation pull off a remarkable upset.
Chasing a paltry total of 124 on a slowish Nagpur surface, the leggie combined with his fellows with the ball and restricted the mighty Windies line-up to 117/8 in 20 overs.
Toppling the table toppers would have been a massive boost for the Afghan side that has already played some awe-inspiring cricket of late.
3. Scotland win their first game in an ICC tournament
Scotland’s association with ICC’s global tournaments has been pretty old to be honest, dating back to 2003 when they participated in the ICC Cricket World Cup.
However, they had not been able to register a single victory in these tournaments so far. That changed this World T20 when the Scottish side defeated Hong Kong in a dead rubber in Nagpur to open their account as far as the ICC tournaments were concerned.
Batting first Hong Kong had put up a modest total of 127/7 in their 20 overs, which was shortened even further under the Duckworth-Lewis rules as the match was affected by rain.
Scotland achieved their revised target of 76 from 10 overs, with two overs to spare at the loss of two wickets, and ended their drought in ICC tournaments.
4. West Indies women win the Women’s World T20
A tournament that had so far been dominated by England and Australia, having won it once and thrice respectively, saw new champions emerge this year, as the West indies women stunned Australia in the final at the Eden Gardens on April 3.
The Australian women had come from behind to beat New Zealand women in the semi-final while West Indies women had beaten the English eves.
Batting first, the Australian ladies put up a formidable total of 148/5, and at the halfway stage it looked as if Australia were in for their fourth World T20 title.
But, as has been the case with the all the West Indian cricket teams this year, the women gunned down the target with ease and strolled home by 8 wickets to lift their maiden World T20 title.
West Indies captain Stefanie Taylor and her opening partner Hayley Matthews put up a match-winning, soul-stirring first wicket stand of 120 runs against perhaps the best bowling and fielding unit in women’s cricket to drag their side to the brink of creating history.
The job was done by Deandra Dottin and Britney Cooper in the final over of the innings, and the West Indies women were the new world champions.
5. West Indies overcome all odds to lift second WT20 title
If the ladies had laid the prelude to the ‘Champion’ treble, the men’s team pulled it off in a tremendous manner, as Carlos Brathwaite’s game-changing consecutive sixes and Marlon Samuels’ masterclass yet again in a World T20 final to led the Caribbeans to their second World t20 title.
Set 156 to win, England looked in command of the match right from the 2nd over when they got Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles off the part-time leg spin of Joe Root until the 19th over, when despite Marlon Samuels heroics, WI were left to score 19 off the final 6 balls.
It was then, that a certain Carlos Brathwaite, relatively unknown in the international circuit compelled Ian Bishop, who was on air doing commentary, to ask everyone to ‘remember the name’ as he smashed 4 sixes off consecutive balls bowled by Ben Stokes to break the English dream and lead WI to glory.
The emotions that were vented out after the match showed just how important this victory was for the team that had overcome insurmountable odds to play in the tournament and eventually win it.
Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels gave emotionally charged up speeches wherein they openly brought to light the dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board and the adversities through which the team had to go through.
Samuels also criticized his own critic, the legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne, saying that he’d answered whatever the leg-spinner had spoken about him with his bat.
Winning the World Cup has always been the dream of every team that plays the sport, but this victory, with all that the cricketers had coped up in the past couple of years, was worth pure gold.
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