Colombo – West Indies were crowned the World Twenty20 champions after beating hosts Sri Lanka by 36 runs in a bowler-dominated final at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
Sri Lanka restricted West Indies to 137/6 to boost their chances of winning their maiden World Twenty20 title but the dream did not materialise as they were shot out for 101 runs in 18.4 overs.
Chasing a seemingly modest victory target, Sri Lanka were going steadily at 48/1 before their batting order caved in, partially because of their anxiousness to stay ahead of the par score in case of a rain interruption which seemed so imminent.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene (33) and former captain Kumar Sangakkara (22) got the starts but could not carry on and only one more Sri Lankan – Nuwan Kulasekara (26) – managed double figure in an otherwise abject batting capitulation.
Spinner Sunil Narine was the pick of the West Indies bowlers, claiming three for nine runs to cap his excellent run in the tournament.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy won the toss but was left to rue his decision to bat first as the Sri Lankan bowlers stifled his batsmen, restricting a side teeming with big-hitters to 32 for two wickets in 10 overs.
Spinner Ajantha Mendis (4/12) broke West Indies' back but Marlon Samuels hit a 56-ball 78 to prove that the hosts were not really unplayable as West Indies recovered somewhat to post 137/6 on the board.
Down the order, Sammy chipped in with an unbeaten 26 off 15 balls to give some respectability to the team total.
For Sri Lanka, Angelo Mathews (1/11) set the tone, starting with a maiden over in which he dismissed the scoreless Johnson Charles before Mendis wrecked the West Indies batting order. – Reuters