Watch: On this day, Carlos Brathwaite’s 6,6,6,6 in final over annihilates England in 2016 T20 World Cup Final

A flamboyant West Indian side who were quite aware of there strengths and weaknesses in the T20 World Cup 2016, rose to immaculate success to get their hands on the coveted title for the second time and etched their name in the history books.

Darren Sammy; A captain who never looked back

A team that did not even had their kits in order coming into this World Cup, they headed into this tournament with a shambolic and unsettled cricket board. However, amidst all this, captain Darren Sammy was the one who induced life in his side once they were into the knockout stages.

West Indies always had a plethora of match-winners in the shortest format of the game. The likes of Chris Gayle, Samuel Badree, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, etc are the most invulnerable figures in T20’s. The only thing lacking was the confidence, which was time to time induced by the skipper himself who was eyeing his second T20 World Cup.

The journey and the semifinals

The power-hitting West Indies batting line-up was spitting fire on any bowling opposition which came their way right from the very first match. They quite comprehensively took down England in the opener by 6 wickets, followed by wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa by 7 and 3 wickets respectively.

A solitary jolt on their course to glory came in the form of the unpredictable Afghans who took down the eventual champions by 6 runs in a low-scoring affair.

However, West Indies’s substantial challenge came in the semifinals when they were up against a rejuvenated Indian side. The hosts were coming into the semis after taming the mighty Aussies in what was a preliminary final.

Defeating India in front of the Wankhede crowd where almost every individual was chanting ‘Dhoni’ and ‘Kohli’ was always going to be an uphill task. But West Indies somehow pull it off courtesy some brutal batting effort from Lendl Simmons and ‘Dre-Russ’ who definitely came out of context. With all set and done, West Indies were just one win away from claiming their hands at the coveted cup for the second time.

Carlos Brathwaite ‘Remember the name’

The stage was set for an epic final at probably the most enthralling and iconic venue in India i.e. the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. West Indies had to face England in the finals, a team whom they beat comprehensively in the tournament opener courtesy Chris Gayle‘s brilliant ton.

The pressure of the finals was immense on both teams who were chasing their second T20 World Cup glory. England batted first and imposed a formidable 155 for the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs.

In reply, West Indies chase was led by veteran Marlon Samuels who carried his bat till the end. However, even with Samuels holding one end, West Indies were short of the required rate due to the early hiccups. But what came in the final over was nothing short of redefining cricket.

Ben Stokes with the ball and Carlos Brathwaite at strike who was definitely an unknown prodigy at that time to the world. 21 needed off the final over, but Brathwaite kept his calm and hammered the first four deliveries out of the park to hand West Indies their second T20 World triumph.

Once it was all over, the scenes at the Eden Gardens were iconic, people went ga ga and West Indies dugout rushed onto the field in enthusiasm. Shirts were flying all around the park, the party was already started and it all was a picturesque scenario.