On This Day in 2012: West Indies Beat Sri Lanka to Win Their Maiden T20 World Cup

West Indies ended an eight-year-long drought for an ICC trophy with a T20 World Cup triumph in 2012. They crushed Sri Lanka in a one-sided final, which took place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo 12 years back on this day (October 7).

While chasing 138, the hosts suffered a batting collapse and ended up losing the summit clash by 36 runs. Sri Lanka won all three league matches and finished at the top of Group 1 where they were pooled alongside the West Indies, England and New Zealand. The Caribbean unit was second in the group after registering two victories.

Sri Lanka were up against Pakistan in the first semi-final and won the knockout game by 16 runs.

IN PICS: WEST INDIES CROWNED T20 WORLD CHAMPION

The West Indies, on the other hand, didn’t struggle much to overcome Australia. With Chris Gayle putting up a blistering show, they posted 205 while in response, the Aussies were bundled out for 131 in 16.4 overs.

The West Indies batting unit replicated their dominance in the final.

Captain Darren Sammy kept his faith in the team as he elected to bat first after winning the toss in Colombo. They, however, failed to make a desired start. Both the openers, Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles, were dismissed in the powerplay.

That’s when Marlon Samuels took over the charge. He took some time to settle at the crease before appearing at his devastating best. The right-handed batter smashed as many as six maximums and three boundaries to score 78 off 56 balls. Kieron Pollard and Andre Russel returned with a one-digit score while Dwayne Bravo managed 19 runs.

Darren Sammy made some crucial contributions down the order. The West Indies skipper added 26 runs to the scoresheet and helped his team set a fightable target. Ajantha Mendis was the top-performing bowler for Sri Lanka and recorded a four-wicket haul.

Coming to chase, Tillakaratne Dilshan returned to the pavilion early. The situation turned worse when Sri Lanka lost the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara in the tenth over. Captain Mahela Jayawardene showed some effort and contributed 33 runs before falling victim to Sunil Narine. The Caribbean spinner took two more wickets later in the match.

Among others, Sammy also had a good outing and picked two scalps. Nawan Kulasekara demonstrated his grit down the order and scored a quickfire 26. His efforts, however, were not enough to change the course of the game.

Marlon Samuels was named the Player of the Match. After his commendable half-century in the first innings, Samuels took one wicket while conceding only 15 runs in his four overs.