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Highlights
Darren Sammy turned emotional in his chat during the awards ceremony after West Indies had won their second ICC World T20 title in Kolkata on Sunday night. Sammy thanked his teammates for a stunning four-wicket win and at the same time expressed his disappointment at a cold West Indies Cricket Board. (Brilliant Marlon Samuels and Carlos Brathwaite Guide West Indies to World T20 Triumph)
Uncertain about the future of West Indies cricket – the team has been repeatedly rocked by pay disputes – Sammy lashed out critics who gave the Caribbeans no chance to win the World T20.
“Firstly I want to thank the almighty. We have a pastor in the team in Andre Fletcher, we keep on praying. Really happy for this win, it’s something we’ll cherish for a long time,” said Sammy.
West Indies needed a special innings from Marlon Samuels (66-ball 85 not out) and Carlos Brathwaite (10-ball 34) as their 54-run seventh wicket stand off just 25 balls knocked out England in the highest ever chase in a world T20 final. (World T20: Carlos Brathwaite Cameo Seals England’s Fate in Thrilling Final)
Chasing 156 for a win, West Indies made a horror start losing three wickets for 11 runs in the third over. Chris Gayle was out for 4 and Man of the semifinal Lendl Simmons failed to open his account. But Samuels held fort as Brathwaite smashed four sixes off Ben Stokes last over in a sizzling display of powerplay.
“We have a few match-winners, nobody gave us a chance but every game somebody stepped up. It was good to see Carlos play like that in his debut World Cup,” said Sammy.
“Shows the T20 depth we have in the Caribbean, hopefully we will continue to improve. People were wondering how we would play this tournament, we had issues with the board, (famous TV analyst) Mark Nicholas called us players with no brain.
“But all of us came together, these 15 men put adversity aside, play this type of cricket in front of such passionate fans. It was tremendous.
” want to thank the coaching team, Phil Simmons. We had a new manager in this tournament. Got to give credit to the entire team here. This is for all the fans in the Caribbean.
“I don’t know when I’m going to be playing for West Indies again, I want to thank my team, thanks my coaching staff. This is for the CHAMPIONS!”
Source: NDTV