World T20: Braithwaite, Samuels help West Indies lift ICC title, complete a treble
Marlon Samuels fought hard as he scored 85 runs but it was his partner who finished the game at the end by hammering the opponent bowlers all around the park in his heroic 10-ball unbeaten 34 runs innings.
By virtue of the win, West Indies competed a treble, after they won the Under 19 World Cup, the Women World T20 and now the men World T20 trophies.
Starting the chase, West Indies received initial jolts as the 2012 champions lost 3 wickets for just 11 runs on the scorecard.
After his exploits with the bat, the Yorkshire man Joe Root struck gold with the ball, picking up Charles in his very first ball and followed it up with the prize scalp of Chris Gayle, who creamed him for a boundary in the first ball he faced, but perished in the ensuing delivery, hitting it straight to the man at long off.
David Willey, who bowled a tight channel, picked up Lendl Simmons, who single handedly ended India's hope in the semi-finals at Mumbai, a few days ago.
Willey struck again, removing the big-hitting Russell for 1 and West Indies skipper Darren Sammy for 2, sending the England supporters to a dizzy.
Dwayne Bravo, who had earlier picked up 3 wickets, played 27 balls for his 25 runs, but formed a crucial partnership with Samuels for the fourth wicket to steady their innings.
Earlier, England managed 155 runs for the loss of 9 wickets, riding on Joe Root's 54 runs knock.
After a poor start in the power play, where the English team lost 3 wickets, the in-form Root scored yet another half-century and bailed out his team from a vulnerable position.
His 36-ball innings of 54 runs consisted of 7 boundaries and he, along with Jos Buttler (36), shared a 61-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Buttler hit some lusty blows, hammering Suleiman Benn for two consecutive sixes to up the ante after the ten over mark before a flurry of wickets saw them losing initiative.
Dwayne Bravo, who lit the event with his hit single 'Champions', came back strongly to claim Stokes (13) and Ali (0) in quick succession as England sloped down the hill from a comfortable 84 runs for the loss of 3 wickets to a 111 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.
A late surge from the English lower order batsman David Willey (21 from 14 balls) helped his team cross the 140-run mark.
For West Indies, Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite picked up 3 wickets each after Samuel Badree wreaked havoc upfront, claiming 2 wickets. Andre Russell accounted for a scalp.
Image: Sudip Dutta
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